Itsumo
by Amiasha Ruri
Summary: Sequel to Eien. The group learns about their past lives, and they find out just what happened to them all in Ancient Egypt. Hey, guess what? Ch9 is up! Sorta! XD
1. Prologue

** A/N**: Gods... Sorry it took so long to get this out. I rewrote it a bunch of times and still don't like it. >   
Anyway, this is only a prologue. Sorry to everyone who was expecting a full chapter. >   
Here are responses to the last chapter of Eien. ^_^   
  
** Ryuujin Dragon King**: Wasn't exactly fast, and isn't much a chapter, but here's something at least. XD *Laughs* You've asked a lot. XD I'd count, but... I'm lazy.   
  
And sorry. I can't stop harassing Yami. It's too fun. XD Thanks for the review!   
  
** Shadow Spirits**: I think I'm gonna go back and make it a little more dramatic... Just slightly, at least. *Giggles* Don't worry, I'll explain about Bekhura eventually. XD Thanks for the review. ^_^   
  
** sugahigh**: Thanks a bunch for the review! Glad you liked. ^_^   
  
** Starlit Hope**: Well, this is the sequel/prequel, and I'll have a third installment which takes place a little after Eien and such. And don't worry, there'll be sidestories. They're what's been distracting me from writing this. XD I'm glad you liked, and thanks for the review!   
  
** Lori Kimaya**: ^_^ Thanks for the compliments. And yup, I know about Yami's name. And yes, I'll incorporate it, but you'll have to see how in the next chapter, I think. ^_^ Wasn't exactly a quick update, but whatever. Close enough. XD Thanks for the review!   
  
** Borath**: Glad you liked the ending even if it was quick and somewhat rushed. I wasn't exactly clear on how the memories thing is working, so I'll explain it before the actual chapter in the notes. I'm really glad you've liked Eien. ^_^ Thanks for the review!   
  
** Wingleader Sora Jade**: ^_^ Sankyuu for the review!   
  
** yamisugar**: ^_^ Thanks a bunch for the review! I'm glad you liked. ^_^   
  
** Silver Nightingale**: Don't worry about it. ^_^ You've more than made up with it for all the compliments. *Giggles*   
  
I'm so glad you liked Eien. ^_^ I'm also so flattered by the compliments I can't really think of anything to say. *Sweatdrops* Erm... I'm just really happy you like it and that you think it's well done. ^_^   
  
I'm certainly gonna' try and finish everything. *Nods* Gonna work on getting stuff out in a timely fashion so I don't get bored. XD   
  
Anyway, thank you for the review and I hope you like this fic as much as Eien. ^_^ (Or at least almost as much. XD)   
  
** AuroraIce**: *Giggles* I'm glad you liked the fic. ^_^   
  
** Namonaki Pharaoh**: ^_^ Thanks for the review! Glad you liked.   
  
** Shadowsage Hopesong**: *Laughs* Here's the sequel. Glad you liked!   
  
** Other notes**: As promised to Borath, I'm gonna explain how the memories this is gonna' work.   
  
As you'll see, this chapter will start straight into AE. The way that this is working is that each character is seeing and feeling everything through their AE self's eyes as the events happen, like they were remembering it. Which is right. Yeah. It's like they're watching the something, just through their past self's eyes. They're not making any actions or anything, and they're not really aware that they're watching. It's like they're living it like they had. Er... If that makes any sense. Characters that aren't in the present, i.e. Akunadin, are just doing what had happened. If you're still confused, anyone, say so and I'll try to explain better.   
  
Also, ages are a bit whacked. I took creative liberties. O.o If an age chart is requested I'll add one next chapter.   
  
** Warnings**: Nothing this chapter. Amazing. XD   
  
** Disclaimer**: I dun' own Yugioh. *Sigh*   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
Itsumo; chapter 1 (prologue)   
by: Amiasha   
  
White cloth fluttered delicately as the wind brushed through it, and ruffled black hair. The young woman brushed a stray lock from her face and shielded her eyes from the wind and twirling sand, gazing upwards solemnly.   
  
The to-be-priestess Aishizu frowned as she watched the dark clouds gather and swirl and the windstorm pick up. "This is not a good omen..." She murmured to herself softly.   
  
She turned around as she felt a hand on her shoulder, coming face-to-face with another boy her age. "Hello, Mahaado." The girl greeted.   
  
The blond boy smiled at her, then looked up at the sky. "This is very strange... Almost like a sandstorm, but not." He commented. "We should consult the priests and our parents. I wonder what this means..."   
  
Aishizu sighed. "Not something good, I can tell that. How are the queen and her child doing?"   
  
"As far as I have heard, they're alright." Mahaado answered, nodding without looking away from the sky. "You think this has to do with them?"   
  
"Most likely." Aishizu said. "I hope not, though... If it does not mean death, then it means something else unpleasant... The child's life will be very unhappy..."   
  
"Let's not tell him that." Mahaado suggested, shielding himself with his cloak as the wind kicked sand up into his face. "He would become understandably discouraged."   
  
Aishizu sighed. "I'm not a priestess yet. I'm not certain. We cannot be sure what this means without someone experienced."   
  
"Right..." Mahaado conceded. He looked over at her. "Come, let's get back to the palace and send our parents out."   
  
Aishizu nodded. "Yes..." She said, following the blond boy back into the palace, casting a glance at the sky a last time before she entered.   
  
Not a good omen at all.   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
** A/N**: I said it was short. *Sweatdrop* I don't expect long reviews. XD *Looks again* Damn, the notes were longer than the prologue. O.o But at least I'll be past my block and I should have a chapter in some relativly timely order. I hope. 


	2. Wilting flowers

** A/N**: Bah, sorry it took so long. Made an outline though, so updates should go more smoothly. I hope.   
  
Again, this chapter is very short, since I'm having an awful time getting into rhythm correctly. It's not as short as the last one, though. XD And these should get longer. But I'd taken forever (again) to update, and it was beginning to bother me. O.o That and the next event I had planned couldn't be smooshed with this one.   
  
** Starlit Hope**: Aishizu is Isis. Mana is the DMG. ^_^ Thanks for the review. ^_^   
  
** ShadowSpirits**: Whacked start, yes. XD Thanks for the review.   
  
** Silver Nightingale**: Glad you liked. ^_^   
  
** Silvie**: ^_^ Gad you liked too. Writers block is teh devi. XD Thanks for the review.   
  
** YamiAra**: Yesyes, weird. XD Mahaado is the Black Magician. Thanks for the review!   
  
** Borath**: ^_^ Glad you're liking. Though now you're making me nervous. XD I'm gonna try to write this well, at least. XD Thanks for the review and glad you like what I have so far. ^_^   
  
** Ashita II**: Thanks for the suggestions. ^_^ I may have to use them; they sound like they'll help. Thanks. ^_^ Glad you liked so far. Thanks for the review!   
  
** Angelic-Demoness678**: ^_^ Nebenkharu will be in this, yes. This chapter, actually. ^_^ Glad you liked and thanks for the review!   
  
** Namonaki Pharaoh**: ^_^ Thanks for the review!   
  
** Ryuujin Dragon King**: XD I've deemed I win the shortness award. Glad you liked though. As for couples... Not cemented ones, much like Eien. XD Most anyone'll get are hints. Thanks for the review! And update your stories! XD   
  
** Wingleader Sora Jade**: *Giggles* Glad you liked and thanks for the review!   
  
** AuroraIce**: Don't worry about not getting the prologue. *Whispers* Don't tell anyone, but I don't get it that much either. XD And don't worry, I'm gonna torture Yami more here in Itsumo. And then more in Fumetsu. *Cackles dementedly* Thanks for the review!   
  
** Meeko-san**: ^_^ I'm glad you liked. Thanks for the review!   
  
** Shadowsage Hopesong**: Yep, we're gonna have the human Mahaado. ^_^   
  
Actually, I have no beta-reader. I never exactly understood what the beta-reader does... (Cause I'm a moron that way. XD) Beta-readers edit grammar and spelling mistakes and plot holes, yes? Well, whatever, feel free to Email me if you'd like to beta-read. ^_^   
  
Thanks for the review!   
  
** Other Notes**: I think I've figured this out... There will be multiple different times and jumps through the beginning, until I get into later years and then it'll get slower and less erratic. Since Eien's events were over the space of a week or so... It's quite hard for me to fill YEARS with stuff. *Sweatdrop* I'm expecting this fic to be far shorter than Eien; maybe half the length. But then again, it'll probably grow and mutate and such. >   
Also, Itsumo will be a little more dramatic than Eien... I think. I'm gonna try and add comedy of course, but it's harder with kids than teenagers, strangely enough. XD   
  
And I'm busy freaking out over here since this isn't flowing too well. -_-; But the first few chapters of Eien didn't flow so well, so maybe it'll get better... I hope... *Sniff*   
  
** Summary of Last Time**: ... It was less than a page. If you don't remember, read again. XD   
  
** Preview of this time**: What everyone's been waiting for... Or not. But it's chibi Yami! And all his chibi friends! And Yami's mommy! And the creepy twit Nebenkharu! XD   
  
** Disclaimer**: 17 41n't m1n3, y0. ... Did I even do that right?   
  
** Warnings**: Sad chappie. Sorta'. It would be sad if it were better. -_-;   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
Itsumo; part 2   
by: Amiasha   
  
"Yami! Yami, what are you doing?" Queen Omorose asked, gliding across the courtyard as she spotted her son sitting on his knees in the grass, seemingly fascinated with something she couldn't see.   
  
The two year old prince, spun around to face her, his gold bangs fluttering with the movement. He grinned broadly at his mother. "Look what I found!" He exclaimed, obviously proud of himself. Unfortunately, what he was so proud of was a long brown snake with a white speckled underside and bright black eyes. It was coiled around the boy's arm, head lifted as it regarded the queen, it's hood opened slightly.   
  
"Yami!" Omorose exclaimed, terrified. She forced herself to speak calmly, not wanting to frighten her son or the snake. "Yami, that's an asp. You need to put him down."   
  
Yami blinked at her with wide violet eyes. "Why?" He asked, patting the snake on the head with his free hand. "Do you not want to pet him, mommy?"   
  
Omorose's identical violet eyes were wide as well as she stared at the cobra. "Yami, the snake is poisonous. You could get very sick if he bites you."   
  
Yami tilted his head slightly. "He wouldn't do that." The boy assured her calmly, patting the snake's head again. "He's nice."   
  
Omorose took a step toward her son, but stopped dead in her tracks as the cobra's hood flared wider and it made a hissing noise, turning it's head toward her. When she stopped moving forward, the snake calmed down and returned to it's previous state.   
  
The queen was at a loss. "Yami, please put down the asp." She requested gently.   
  
Again the boy blinked at her, but then turned his attention to the snake. "Sorry. Mommy wants me to put you down." He knelt down and unwrapped the snake from his arm while his mother watched, holding her breath, then stood back up and smiled as the cobra slithered off into the grass. "He's gone now, mommy."   
  
Omorose sighed heavily in relief, rushing forward to kneel in front her of son. "Yami, that was very dangerous. Don't ever do something like that again." She scolded.   
  
The prince looked at her, confusion obvious on his face. "I'm sorry. I thought you would think he was pretty."   
  
Omorose looked at his expression and couldn't help but smile at him. "I did. I just worried about you."   
  
Yami blinked yet again, then gave a triumphant smile. "Don't worry about me, mommy. I'm invincible." He proclaimed, doing his very best to puff out his chest and look manly.   
  
Omorose giggled at her boy. "Of course you are. Go play, Yami. Your friends are in the second garden."   
  
Yami grinned brightly, turning on his heel and dashing off in the direction of the second courtyard. His mother straightened and called after him. "And don't pick up any more asps!"   
  
As she watched her son run off, Omorose smiled and shook her head. He certainly was a strange little boy. She chuckled at that thought, considering that the boy looked and acted so much like her. He shared her eyes, her hair color, and her stubbornness. Something that Simon constantly sighed and muttered under his breath about.   
  
Omorose was somewhat amused at the fact that the boy seemingly had no traits from his father. The only thing he'd gotten from him was the name Atem; which had been the cause of a huge fight between the king and queen. Omorose had wanted her son's name to be Yami, since when they had been expecting a girl she had chosen the name Yaminah. Akunamukannon hadn't agreed and it had taken awhile for the prince's name to be settled. Omorose, though she had no problem with the name Atem, steadfastly continued to call him Yami. And much to her satisfaction, so did almost everyone else.   
  
She sighed softly and placed her hand against her forehead, feeling very dizzy. It wasn't the first time, either. She'd been having dizzy spells for nearly a year, all gradually getting worse than the last, and recently they had become much more pronounced. The healers had all tried to find the problem, but none had been successful. Everyone was very worried since her symptoms just kept getting worse and no treatments, no matter how farfetched, were helping her.   
  
She didn't want to leave her son so soon. He was only two, and being the crown prince of Egypt he was in a lot of danger, not only from outsiders but from people inside the palace. There were many things he needed to learn before he had to take the throne, whatever age that may be.   
  
That, and she simply wanted to watch her little boy grow up. He was already very bright for his age, at least in everything that didn't have to do with snake identification. He was mastering all his classes and lessons, and he had a very advanced grasp of situations. Everyone seemed to love him, and Omorose had no doubt he would make a wonderful Pharaoh. She desperately wanted to be there through everything he had to face, and to help and guide him. But it didn't seem like she would get her wish.   
  
Yami, meanwhile, had made it to the second garden where, true to his mother's words, he'd found his friends.   
  
Jouno, a blond boy with deep brown eyes who was slightly older than Yami, was busy quarrelling a brunette with blue eyes. The brunette, Seth, was a priest-in-training. A brown haired girl, Anzu, was playing tag with two other boys; a brunette named Honda and a raven haired boy named Ryuuji. Shaadii and Karim, two more priests in training, were watching the others play while they discussed their classes.   
  
As Yami showed up, tripping slightly over his cape, Jouno looked away from Seth and towards his friend. "Hey Yami!" He exclaimed, practically skipping over to Yami. "Where have you been?"   
  
Yami smiled up at him. "I found a snake and showed him to mommy, though he scared her for some reason." He explained.   
  
Seth swept over, looking at the two. "What kind of snake was it, exactly?"   
  
Yami blinked way up at him; Seth already being a foot taller than the prince. "Mommy called him an asp."   
  
Seth just looked at him for a moment before smiling and shaking his head as his young friend. "Only you, Yami. Only you."   
  
Yami blinked at him again and was about to say something when a shadow loomed over him. Whirling around, the boy looked up yet again, this time to meet dark red eyes.   
  
"Greetings, prince." The man they belonged to greeted smoothly.   
  
Yami searched his mind for the name of this creepy man, but came up black. He was only two; how was he supposed to remember all these people's names anyway? He had a hard enough time with his friends, parents, and priests, let alone the countless advisors, teachers, servants, scribes and others than frequented the palace.   
  
He was saved though, by Seth. "Nebenkharu." He said, addressing the man. "What can we help you with?" The four year old asked formally, sounding much older than he was.   
  
Nebenkharu spared him a glance, before looking back at Yami. "Actually, I'm here to get the prince for his magic class."   
  
Yami sighed at that. Classes? Again? It seemed that all he ever did was go to classes.   
  
That and pet snakes, anyway.   
  
The boy sighed again. Sooner he got to his class, sooner it would be over. Though this was his favorite of the many courses he had... He got to blow stuff up. A lot.   
  
But geez, this guy was creepy.   
  
Again Yami was saved, by an older boy who was coming towards him. The boy, who was about ten, had long gold hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in long white and gold robes, and was anther priest in training.   
  
"Oi, prince!" Mahaado called, coming to a halt next to the royal. He panted a bit from the running, but then straightened and looked at the smaller boy. "Aishizu asked me to get you. She says that she knows you have a class, but she's already talked to Simon and that this is important."   
  
Yami blinked, but then nodded. "Okay." He agreed, far more comfortable following Mahaado than this weird guy he barely remembered.   
  
Seth snorted slightly. "What's our seeress-hopeful done now?" He didn't have a whole lot of respect for Aishizu's magical talent, which was in scrying and pregonetics. The girl herself he got along with, but while he believed in magic, he certainly didn't believe in people telling the future.   
  
"If she'd cared if you'd know, she would have told me to explain." Mahaado replied, frowing. He and Seth, on the other hand, didn't get along all that well.   
  
"Come on." Yami said, tugging slightly on Mahaado's cape. "If it's so important, can we go?"   
  
Mahaado looked down at him, and nodded. "Yes, you're right. Follow me." He said, turning and making his way back into the palace. Yami trailed after him, feeling worried. Aishizu was known for bringing bad news. And being right.   
  
Mahaado led Yami expertly through the polished hallways of the palace, and then down one of the secret passages to the childrens' rooms. He turned right, toward the girls' area, and then stopped in front of one of the doors. On the wood, gold hieroglyphs read 'Aishizu'.   
  
Mahaado knocked loudly as Yami fidgeted behind him. Aishizu soon opened her door, and greeted the two in front of her. "Come in." She said, turning and walking back into their room.   
  
Mahaado and Yami followed, glancing around for the first time at her maroon colored room. Some of the finest fabrics available adorned the walls and ceiling, along with her bedspread. Aishizu's mother was a very wellknown priestess, and was one of the richest people in the country.   
  
Aishizu stopped by a large wooden table, where many white flowers were laid out. A small gold ankh stood at the head of each flower.   
  
Yami blinked, then looked up at Aishizu. "What are these flowers for?" He asked. "And how are they still alive? They're not in water."   
  
Aishizu smiled sadly at him. "That's what I called you here for." She said, motioning to the flowers. "These have all been enchanted. Each represents a different person's heath and life." She picked up the first of the flowers. "This one is yours, Yami. See how white it is and the bright green stem? That means the flower is healthy, and that's because you are." She replaced the flower in it's previous position gently.   
  
Yami blinked at her again, then began catching onto the meaning of her calling him here. "Some of the flowers aren't very well, are they?" He asked, walking over to look at the row of plants. He pointed at the second flower from the left. "This one's stem is a little pale..."   
  
Aishizu came to look over his shoulder. "That one's Seth's. He has a cold." She, chuckling slightly.   
  
Yami nodded slightly, as Mahaado came to stand next to him as well. The prince continued his looking over the flowers, and then stopped. Slowly and gently he picked up one of the flowers which had partially turned brown all over. A little less than half of the flower's petals were still white. "Who's is this?"   
  
Aishizu sighed. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. That flower is your mother's."   
  
The prince looked back down at it, turning it slightly in his hands. He knew enough about magic to be able to tell what that meant. "She's going to die, isn't she?" He asked softly.   
  
"I'm sorry, Yami." Aishizu said, putting her arms around him gently. "It's not going to be tomorrow... But I asked my mother once I thought the flower had turned enough and she agreed. I'm sorry, Yami."   
  
Slowly Yami replaced the flower, and then dipped his head slightly. "Has anyone told mother?"   
  
"Not yet." Aishizu answered, letting go of him. "But my mother is on her way right now, I think."   
  
Yami sniffled, looking up at Mahaado like there was something he could do to change what the girl had said. The golden haired boy shook his head slightly and put his hand on Yami's shoulder.   
  
The prince burst into tears.   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
** A/N**: Gods, this chapter is awful. *Burst into tears herself*   
  
Before anyone asks, yes, Yaminah is an Egyptian name according to the sites I found. I don't know how modern Egyptian, but whatever.   
  
Also, Atem/Atemu is Yami's real name, according to the AE arc. I've taken creative liberties, so I could have both Yami and Atem. XD Hope that works.   
  
Oh, and anyone like Yami's mother? Or is she an annoying ho? XD   
  
*Wonders if precognetics is the correct word for the study/field of precognetic abilities. Also wonders how many people's brains have been jumbled by reading 'precognetic' and 'precognetics' and 'precognetive' so many times.* Mine certainly has. @_@   
  
Anyway, please review! 


	3. Mafdet and Spot

** A/N**: ... Don't kill me for the lateness, okay? XD Had a lot to do lately, and had writer's block. After this chapter, I should be faster. Maybe. I hope. Also sorry for the lousiness of the writing in this chapter. -_-;   
  
** Starlit Hope**: Don't worry about it. ^_^   
  
*Giggles* You may have just given me another sidestory idea for after Itsumo... Yamis go to the zoo. Mwa ha ha! XD And yes. Chibi!Yami loves things to go BOOM!. Heh, he likes things to go BOOM! as a teenager too... XD   
  
Thanks for the review!   
  
** Silvie**: *Giggles* Glad you like. Actually, our little thief king isn't here yet... *Check outline* Hm... Might have to rearrange some stuff... He should be here somewhere around chapter 6, I think. Maybe sooner or later than that.   
  
And yes, a very familiar kitty will be showing up. *Wink*   
  
Thanks for the review! ^_^   
  
** Meeko-san**: XD Chapter two, I suppose. Mostly called chapter one a prologue to excuse it being so short. *Looks around conspiratorially* But that's a secret. XD Thanks for the review!   
  
** AuroraIce**: Most of it, yes. Itsumo is supposed to be the memories that they're getting from the last chapter of Eien... Though the last chapter of Itsumo will be set in present day after the whole memories thing. Then the next story, Fumetsu, will be in present time again. ^_^ Thanks for the review!   
  
** Silver Nightingale**: They all would look pretty cute as chibis, wouldn't they? XD   
  
^_^ Thanks for the compliments, and glad you liked the stuff with Yami's name and his poor mommy-mommy. And yes, writer's block is very evil. -_-;   
  
XD What would a story be without torturing Yami a bit? Or a lot? Or excessively? XD Besides, why his mother's dying is gonna be important later... *cough*   
  
Thanks for the review!   
  
** Borath**: ^_^ Glad you're liking the fic, and that Mahaado's not annoying you. XD   
  
^_^ I'm glad you like Yami's mother too. I hoped she'd be liked... Too bad she won't be around much longer. *Cough*   
  
^_^ I'm really happy you like how this is going so far. And that I don't screw it up. @_@ Thanks for the review!   
  
** Ryuujin Dragon King**: ^_^ I'm glad you liked the chapter. Chibi Yami is fun. I've thought about doing a chibi fic... But never actually did so. XD So this'll have to do, yes?   
  
Yay, you liked Yami's mom too. XD Good, she's going over well. Almost feel bad she doesn't stay longer. *Cough* Thanks for the review!   
  
** Angelic-Demoness678**: *Giggles* Chibi-Yami would be so squeezable. XD And Nebenkharu says hell is nice, by the way. XD   
  
Yay! Kaiba's mansion! I still get it even though this update took awhile, yes? XD Anyway, thanks for the review!   
  
** YamiAra**: *Laughs* I had to include the poor snake. He had a cameo in Eien in the original outline, but never made it to the final story. Poor guy. XD And Nebenkharu doesn't like anyone. XD   
  
Omorose is the name I chose for Yami's mother. I have no idea what her real name is. XD She doesn't really look like Yami's mother in the manga, either... More like a female version of Yami. XD Thanks for the review!   
  
** bast4**: ^_^ Glad you liked. As for Yuugi, Ryou, and Mokuba; Yuugi and Ryou don't exist in this time since they're Yami and Bekhura in a way; and Mokuba hasn't been born yet. XD He'll be here later, though. Thanks for the review!   
  
** sugahigh**: ^_^ Glad you liked, and thanks for the review.   
  
** Other Notes**: Erm... *Thinks* There was something I wanted to say first... But forgot it. O.o Oh, another thing though, Nebenkharu's age is getting changed. He was too young. So he's about 45 or so when the events of Eien happen, not 35. Otherwise he'd barely be an adult when Yami was chibi. @_@   
  
One of the sidestories is up, for those who don't know. ^_^ It's called Catnip; and it's set a little before Eien. Contrary to it's name, this isn't the fic where they get Mafdet. XD It's a roadtrip fic.   
  
*Sweatdrops* Rereading Eien again... Noticed the when the group all acted surprised in the tomb when they found that the others had been in Egypt... Shaadii had already told them earlier. @_@ Yay amnesia, right? (Yami: WRONG!)   
  
** Warnings**: Death, I suppose.   
  
** Disclaimer**: I don't own Yugioh... y0. XD   
  
** Summary of last time**: The chibis were introduced, as was Yami's mother. And... They found out poor Yami's mom was gonna' croak. XD   
  
** Preview of this time**: Erm...   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
Itsumo; chapter 3   
by: Amiasha   
  
The prince held the dead brown flower gently in his hands, watching with glazed indigo eyes as the magnificent boat drifted down the river. It was the customary last ride down the Nile.   
  
Yami rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, slightly smearing his kohl, and sniffed. It had been early that morning that his mother had passed on to the afterlife.   
  
The now three-year-old boy sighed softly, his gaze falling from the boat to the wilted flower in his hands. The flower, enchanted to react to his mother's health, had steadily died along with the queen. And, unable to do anything to stop it, Yami was only able to watch helplessly.   
  
Omorose had been at peace though; she seemed to have known it was coming. She wasn't too shocked when Aishizu's mother had informed her. Yami had been far more upset.   
  
Yami carefully placed the flower in the small bag he had brought with him, sighing again. He glanced around to see he was mostly alone; Seth stood quietly a way down the bank and gazing out over the river. The Pharaoh, Yami's father, was farther away and talking to a large group of people. He hadn't noticed when Yami had snuck away to get some time alone, and Yami certainly didn't mind. He and his father didn't talk much anyway. Yami had always been closest to his mother.   
  
"Prince..." A voice came from behind Yami, scaring the boy into spinning around to come face-to-face with his father's advisor, Nebenkharu. Somewhere in the back of his mind the prince wondered how the man could have snuck up on his without he, or Seth, noticing.   
  
Yami looked way up at Nebenkharu, feeling an odd sense of deja vu. "Advisor." He greeted respectfully, though he was beginning to feel a little lightheaded and dizzy. The man always had that affect on him, as well as making him incredibly nervous and panicked.   
  
"I'm sorry for your loss, crown prince Atem." The advisor said smoothly, outwardly sounding sincere though Yami could sense he wasn't.   
  
Yami nodded, his eyes returning to their usual violet color as he noticed his future high priest's blue eyes turn towards the two, watching quietly. The prince was grateful that the other boy cared enough to watch over him. "Thank you." He said, making eye contact with Nebenkharu. Usually when the prince locked eyes with someone, they were often frightened into leaving by how piercing his gaze was.   
  
When only silence ensued and the man didn't make a move to leave, Yami began getting more nervous. He didn't like being watched or stared at, especially not by Nebenkharu. The advisor always seemed to be watching him.   
  
Seth stepped over, the five-year-old coming to stand next to Yami. "You can leave now." He said coldly, using his status as the son of a priest to go ahead and boss the older but less powerful man around.   
  
Nebenkharu looked away from Yami, at Seth, and glared darkly. However, he didn't offer any response and simply turned away, stalking off to join Akunamukannon and the other men.   
  
Seth exchanged a look with Yami. The brunette boy didn't trust Nebenkharu at all, and he could tell that Yami shared that. Unfortunately, while most of the other children agreed, the adults either didn't notice or didn't care.   
  
Yami turned away from Seth and back toward the water silently, and sat down on the bank. He brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs. Seth sat down next to him. "...Are you alright?" He asked, feeling silly for asking. Of course the prince wasn't alright, and of course he would say-   
  
"Yes, I'm fine."   
  
Seth sighed, setting a hand gently on his friend's shoulder. "I'm really sorry, Yami."   
  
Yami smiled sadly at him. "Thank you." He said gratefully, before looking back out over the river. He was silent for a few minutes. "...I... Really miss her... But I know she's never coming back in this life and that I should go on. I... Just can't believe she's actually gone, now. I knew she wouldn't be with us very long... But it's still..." He trailed off, tears starting down his face again. He angrily scrubbed at his eyes with his hand, until Seth gently took his wrist and pulled his hand away.   
  
"You'll rub your face off, Yami." Seth said, attempting to cheer the other boy up the slightest bit. It seemed to work, because the priest-in-training got a small smile.   
  
"You're right. And mommy always told me I had a pretty face..." The prince said, smiling more.   
  
Seth chuckled. "That's because you look like HER."   
  
Giving a small giggle, Yami stood up. "Thank you Seth. You've made me feel a bit better..." He said, turning toward the other boy who had also stood. "I'm going to go back to the palace. There aren't going to be any more ceremonies for a few days, and I won't be missed for the last of this one. If I am, I'll be amazed." Yami cast a last glance at the boat, which had almost disappeared from view, before looking back at Seth.   
  
Seth nodded. "Alright. I'll take you back to the palace and make sure you don't get eaten by any hippos or anything." He said, getting a small smirk and grabbing the prince's arm gently to lead him back to the palace.   
  
Yami sputtered for a moment as Seth dragged him off. "But... The Nile is where the hippos are. We're going AWAY from the Nile!"   
  
"I couldn't think of anything else besides crocodiles, and then there's the same problem." Seth responded, shrugging.   
  
It didn't take long for the boys to reach the palace. They stepped easily past the guards, getting respectful nods as they did so, and entered the palace.   
  
"I'm going to go to my room for awhile." Yami told Seth, getting another nod from his friend. "Thank you for walking me here."   
  
"You're welcome, Yami." Seth said, smiling. He was a bit worried about the smaller boy, though. The royal's tone had lost the lightness it had for a few minutes when they were talking at the river, and had taken on a very tired and subdued sound. Even as young as he was, the boy has been showing signs of depression during his mother's illness and Seth had no doubt it would only get worse with the queen's loss. "I'll see you at dinner." He said softly.   
  
Yami smiled sadly at him again, before making his way down the hall. He slipped into the familiar secret passage, entering into the hidden hallway of children's rooms. He opened his large doors, then the second smaller set, and entered his lavishly decorated and huge room. The floors, walls, and ceiling of the room were white marble; with a large velvet purple rug laid out in the center of the room. The prince's bed had silk sheets of the matching color. There were large windows and glass doors on the far wall, which led out into the prince's personal courtyard/garden.   
  
Slipping off his fancy sandals, Yami unhooked his cape and set about removing the large amount of golden jewelry he was wearing. Finally, getting all of it off and setting it carefully on a table, he made his way over to his bad and laid down.   
  
The boy sighed, rolling onto his side and hugging a fluffy violet pillow. 'What am I going to do now?' He asked himself, hugging the pillow tighter. 'I miss you...' His eyes slowly fluttered closed, and he fell asleep.   
************   
  
Akunamukannon spotted one of his priests, his brother, Akunadin, and made his way over to talk to him. "Akunadin, where has Atem gone off to? It's almost time for dinner and I haven't seen him anywhere since the ceremony."   
  
Akunadin shook his head. "I have no idea." He replied. "Maybe Seth has seen him. If not, one of the other children probably has."   
  
Seth, who had just passed his mother's cleanliness inspection, had been okayed to go to dinner, and so was heading for the dining hall when he heard the two mens' conversation and stopped. He walked over to the two and after bowing respectfully if a bit stiffly to the Pharaoh, he looked up at Akunadin. "I've seen Atem." He said, barely remembering to change his friend's name while in front of the Pharaoh. "He went back to his room a few hours ago."   
  
"Thank you, Seth." Akunadin said, smiling down at the boy. He looked at Akunamukannon, who nodded.   
  
"I'll send Simon to go get him." The Pharaoh said, before turning and heading off down the hallway to find Simon.   
  
"Come on, Seth, let's get to the hall." Akunadin said, making his way toward the dining hall. Seth ran after him. ************   
  
Dinner was uneventful, but Seth noticed Yami was absent. Making a note to speak with Simon about the prince, Seth chased down the man after dinner.   
  
"Where's Yami?" Seth asked, looking up at the holder of the Ankh.   
  
"He's not feeling well." Simon answered, looking somewhat concerned. "He told me he wasn't hungry and wanted to stay in his room during dinner. If you're going to talk to him, make sure to ask him if he wants any food. The cooks'll have the rest of dinner saved for another hour or so."   
  
Seth nodded. "Alright. Thank you, Simon." He said, before running off down the polished corridors. He easily located the secret passage that led to the children's rooms, since he entered it multiple times every day, and then found the doors to Yami's room.   
  
Seth opened the first set of doors to the prince's room, and stepped into the small preliminary room that laid between the doors he'd just gone through and the door that actually went into Yami's room. It was decorated in orangey-reds and golds and had pillows scattered about the space, giving a cozy appearance. Seth had always liked the idea of the room. It was both a safety measure and privacy one; a double room wasn't expected so anyone who entered meaning harm to the prince would be a bit surprised, as well as it not allowing just anyone to step into the boy's room without an invitation. The first set of doors was heavy enough that the sound of them opening could be heard in the main room as well.   
  
Seth knocked on the smaller set of doors, and waited patiently. Surprisingly though, it wasn't Yami who answered the door; it was the golden haired boy, Jouno.   
  
Seth frowned. Jouno annoyed him to no end. "What are you doing here?" He asked a bit coldly.   
  
Jono glared at him, drawing himself up and trying to look important while pouting. "Simon sent me to stay with Yami. Honda, Anzu, and Ryuuji are here too."   
  
Seth yawned. "More than I cared to know." He said, looking bored. "Out of my way."   
  
Jono's glare darkened as Seth shoved past him into Yami's room. Looking around for his friend, he spotted the prince on his violet bed, looking a bit depressed. Anzu was sitting on the end of Yami's bed, and Honda was standing against the wall with his arms crossed. A small leopardess, which had been rescued by Yami earlier in the year, was curled up in the middle of the rug, half sleeping and half watching the three.   
  
"Having a party?" Seth asked, sticking his nose up slightly to let the others know he didn't think too highly of them. He stepped over to scratch the leopardess's ears before sitting down casually on Yami's bed as well.   
  
Anzu glared darkly at him. "Mind your own business, Seth. If you have a problem, leave."   
  
Seth was about to respond when Yami spoke up. "Don't fight, please." He said, sighing.   
  
Seth shrugged but didn't make the rude comment to Anzu he'd been about to make. Instead, he turned to look at Yami. "What IS everyone doing in here?"   
  
"Up until a few minutes ago, harassing Spot." Yami said, and the leopardess, upon hearing her name, looked up at him for a moment before laying her head back on the ground. Yami smiled at her. "Not really. Jono was, but no one else. Everyone's just in here to keep my company, even though I don't need it."   
  
Jono ran over and jumped onto the bed beside Seth, bouncing a few times cheerfully. "Everyone could use some company!" He exclaimed hyperly.   
  
Yami giggled and shook his head. "You just like being in my room."   
  
"That too." Jono admitted, nodding and grinning.   
  
"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Seth asked the golden blond, tilting his head slightly.   
  
Honda suddenly facefaulted. "Jono, we have swordfighting classes!"   
  
Jono's eyes bugged. "You're right! We're late!"   
  
"And I have herbological healing classes!" Anzu realized, looking panicked.   
  
The three children looked at each other once before running out of the room without so much as a goodbye.   
  
Yami sweatdropped, and Seth looked satisfied with himself. "That got rid of THEM." The future priest commented.   
  
Yami just shook his head. "I have more classes than they do and I still manage to get to them all... And not be late."   
  
"You're more coordinated." Seth said, lounging back on the bed. "Amazingly."   
  
Yami frowned. "What's THAT supposed to mean." He asked in mock anger.   
  
Seth smirked. "Exactly what it sounded like."   
  
Yami scrunched his nose slightly. "You're mean, Seth."   
  
Seth chuckled evilly. "I know."   
************   
  
Yami woke up the next morning to the sound of his first set of door opening. Sitting up in his bed and noticing that Spot had stood up, the prince waited to see who would enter his room.   
  
A moment later he got his answer. It was Simon, and he was carrying a small white bundle of cloth.   
  
Tilting his head, Yami looked confusedly at the man. "Simon? What are you here for?"   
  
Simon smiled at him. "I come in here every morning, Yami. Remember? I wake you up for breakfast and then your classes?"   
  
Yami sweatdropped, feeling a bit stupid. "Oh. Right. Sorry, I forgot..."   
  
"That's alright." Simon laughed, coming over to stand by Yami's bed. "I have something for you."   
  
Yami blinked up at him. "You do? What is it?"   
  
The vizier simply handed Yami the white cloth bundle. Said prince blinked at it, then at Simon, then back at it, then he noticed the tiny set of ears and the red fur. A tiny kitten's face appeared a moment later, yawning widely.   
  
Yami almost squealed, which would have been very amusing. Instead he acted a bit more regally, or at least as regally as a three year old could be.   
  
"Thank you Simon!" The boy said, eyes shining. "She's so pretty! But why isn't she with the rest of the palace cats?"   
  
"She how little she is? She's still too young to be with the other palace cats. I found her by the temple of Isis, and since she'll need to be taken care of and you love pets, I thought you'd be the perfect person." Simon explained, smiling as Yami rubbed the kitten's ears and Spot trotted over to see what the fuss was about.   
  
The leopardess put her front paws on the bed so she could look down at the kitten, seeming somewhat baffled. The kitten had no problem with the other cat, simply reaching up and batting at her nose.   
  
Spot blinked, before getting the kitten all wet by giving a lick across her head with her huge tongue. Yami giggled and Simon looked amused, and the kitten mewed cheerfully.   
  
"What are you going to name her?" Simon asked, as Yami scrubbed the kitten dry with the cloth.   
  
Yami considered for a moment, looking down at the little red kitten. "How about Mafdet?"   
  
Simon smiled. "I think that's a good name. Now come on, Yami, get ready; time for breakfast."   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
** A/N**: ^_^ Well, there we go. Another chapter done, finally. Mafdet's here now, and I got to introduce Spot, the leopardess, too. ^_^ I got the idea for her a long time ago when reading a fanfiction... Dunno which one it was... But then I thought it'd be fun for Yami to have a leopard... Who may get to show up in Fumetsu. XD 


	4. Thieves and Kings

**_NOTE:_** Fixed the 'es' problem, I hope. Punts ff.net

**A/N**: So sorry with how long this took. I had so many comp problems it's not even funny. I started to write, and then my comp crashed and lost everything.

But that's a good thing, I suppose, because this chapter is better than the one I'd started. And you get thief king sooner. XD And it's over double the length (this chappie is 13 pages) of my normal chapters, which is good, yes? Though this chapter IS a bit odd...

I'm toying with the idea of making a separate page for review responses that I link to for people who want to read, because apparently ff.net has decided responding to reviews is 'using the fic as a message board'. -- Dips. But I really don't want to get deleted, so I dunno... What do you people think?

**Silvie-chan**: I'm glad you liked and that you think the mood was good. And actually, Bekhura shows up here in this chapter. XD I changed my mind.

XD I can't have original names all the time. Besides, she seems like a Spot, doesn't she? XD Thanks for the review!

**Starlit Hope**: Yami's any sort of animal person, as will be seen later. XD Thanks for the review!

**Ryuujin Dragon King**: Glad you liked. And they are a bit mature... But in the other notes section I have an excuse. XD And thanks for the review.

AuroraIce: Actually, Takahashi DOES have one picture of chibi Yami. It's in the last few pages of manga chapter 287. And we got to see ChibiYami again, along with ChibiMahaado, in eppy 203. It's so cute!

Glad you like Mafdet and Spot.

And about the sidestory thing, I sent you an Email but I dunno if you got it. XD I have been planning for one, yes. Glad to know there's some interest.

**Silver Nightingale**: Cooking is good. XD But compliments are better.

Spot wasn't in Eien because Yami hadn't remember about her yet, and he'd had no way to get into his life unlike Mafdet. However, she'll be making an appearance in Fumetsu. XD

XD I can explain the Ryuuji thing. Sort of. There were three versions of that scene, one with them all in it for longer, one with them not in it at all, and the third with them being in a little while. I got mixed up and forgot about having an excuse for Ryuuji to leave. XD

Thanks for the review!

**Borath**: XD 'Tis alright.

XD Yesyes, Seth has always been a bit bossy. Glad you like the relationship between him and Yami. As for what happens between them, it'll be seen later.

Yes, Akunadin and Akunamukannon are annoying. Mixed them up in this chapter once, actually, and had to fix it. XD

XD I don't think that Jou and Seto will ever get along in ANY life.

XD Yeah, Yami with a leopard is a bit scary...

Glad you liked the chapter. And about your prediction about Bekhura's entrance beginning the storms... XD Well, he's entering this chapter, so you'll get to see. And in the meantime, stop reading my mind. XD

Thanks for the review. XD

**Meeko-san**: You get Bekhura this chapter. XD Glad you liked, by the way.

XD Pickles are the devil's food. But yay for dancing! Dances as well

**Namonaki Pharaoh**: Thanks for the review, and glad you liked.

**YamiAra**: Chocolate! XD Glad you liked, and thanks for the review. XD

**sugahigh**: Glad you liked. Update certainly wasn't soon, but it was soon after your review. XD Thanks for the review.

**Other Notes**: This chapter was surprisingly easy to write once I actually started working on it. Blink But it REFUSED TO END. Which is why this chapter is so much longer than my usual ones.

Unfortunately, this chapter is a bit more serious. (Okay, maybe it's not unfortunate, but I'm not sure. XD) Next chapter will be hopefully more comedic. Though since this fic is a bit more plot driven than Eien, it's stranger for the comedy... And I know the others haven't been in this much yet, but they start having more parts later on. After Yami becomes Pharaoh they really start joining in. Also, Nebenkharu, who's been muchly ignored, will start appearing more as well.

As for Itsumo as a whole, it's going to be far shorter than Eien though I think the chapters may be longer. It should be somewhere between 14 and 18 chapters, depending on how I extend the outline. But no where near Eien's 28 chapters.

Was doing some research on how tall Egyptians were, and while the usual average is about 5'4" or so, some were found to be six feet. That could explain why the hell Seth is so tall. XD And poor Yami is STILL short. XD

Also, I found a good reason for why these kids are so darn mature. XD In ancient Egypt, you were expected to be an adult by around somewhere like 13 or 14. So that's about four or five years younger than modern day kids, so basically, if you add on four or five years to their ages in this fic you get about their mental age. XD Is smacked for the bad excuse Hey, it's better than NO excuse, right? XD

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yugioh, though I did just order Box Sets 3 and 4 so I'm happy. XD Even though they were ungodly expensive. Hackwheeze

**Warnings**: Violence, and quite a bit of language from our dear Seth and Bekhura. Much of it at each other. XD

**Summary of Last Time**: I have no flippin' clue. XD

**Preview of This Time**: Bekhura makes his appearance, and Yami has a bit of a spat with his father.

* * *

Itsumo; part 4

By: Amiasha

An unseen wind blew long bangs into his face as he spun, a flash of white caught in the corner of his eye. The black as night air obscured any more sight of whatever it had been; the only light coming from the tiny flecks of gold that hung suspended in mid-air. He turned again, searching for the white, and his violet eyes locked with a pair of deep brown ones before Yami jolted awake.

Quickly, he sat up, easily igniting a candle with a wave of his hand. Mafdet and Spot both looked up as the fire suddenly flared to life.

Yami smiled at them. "It's alright." He said quietly, since it was still the dead of night. "Just a dream."

The cats seemed appeased, and both laid their heads down again. Yami sighed. He knew it wasn't 'just a dream'. His mother, Aishizu, and Aishizu's mother had all taught him how to tell a normal dream from a precognetive one. There was usually something to look for, or a feeling. The golden flecks, which were actually grains of sand, were the mark to look for for Yami.

The boy sighed. It was still very early, and he didn't have to be up yet. He really should get more sleep, since he'd been exhausted the past few days, but he didn't feel like sleeping. He was wide awake, mostly because the dream had unnerved him a bit.

Yami set his chin in his hands and began trying to figure his dream out. Something about the person in the dream, maybe their hair or clothes, was white, and they had deep brown eyes. He'd never met anyone like that before.

He sighed again, throwing back his covers and getting out of bed as he realised he wasn't going back to sleep. He selected a variation on his usual white outfit; it was black and had a full length skirt. He quickly changed, slipped on his shoes, put on and latched a violet cape, and grabbed his circlet before opening the glass doors that led to his courtyard. Spot looked up again, but deemed nothing was amiss and went back to sleep. Yami stepped out into the yard, leaving the glass door slightly open.

The moon shone down from above, but was surprisingly slightly obscured by clouds. Yami looked up, blinking a few times in surprise at the presence of the clouds, but just shrugged. He sat down on the edge of the fountain, pulling his cape around himself as he felt the cold desert night air against his arms.

A soft rustling caught his attention and his head immediately snapped around to pinpoint where the sound had come from. It was up on one of the courtyard walls, and that worried him because it meant it probably wasn't a snake or other creature. His suspicion was confirmed as a dagger suddenly flew past him, cutting a shallow line in his shoulder. The six year old shot to his feet, putting a hand over the injury and looking around for his attacker before spotting a figure in a dark cloak, crouched near where the sound came on the wall.

The figure, apparently a boy a little older than him, jumped down and swore. "Damn. I missed."

Yami's eyes widened before narrowing as he backed away slightly. "Who are you?" He demanded, readying a spell discreetly.

The other boy laughed and stepped into a patch of moonlight. He pulled back his hood, and Yami gasped quietly as his silvery-white hair gleamed in the light and his slightly slanted deep brown eyes glittered. "I am the King of Thieves."

The prince was stunned for a few seconds. This was obviously the person in his dream. Well, it was a new record, then. Never had his dreams come true so fast. A moment or two later he recovered enough to respond. "Some king of thieves you are. You missed. I didn't even have to dodge."

The thief looked a bit perturbed and put his hands on his hips. "I'm not an assassin. You weren't supposed to be awake. It's the middle of the night."

Yami glared. "It's a good thing I wasn't asleep. You would have killed me."

The thief sighed, taking his hands off his hips and reaching into his cloak to pull out a short sword from the sheath on his belt. "Good for YOU maybe, but then again, maybe not. You would have been dead before you felt anything. Now you don't have that luxury."

The prince's eyes narrowed and he charged his spell more as he began backing away. "I'm giving you a last chance to leave." He warned coldly.

The white haired boy was unbothered and continued forward. "I'm sorry; I'm afraid I can't do that. You've seen what I look like, and if I want to go on making a living I can't have anyone knowing who to look for."

Yami stopped as his back hit one of the walls of the courtyard. He glared at the thief, patiently waiting for him to come into range. The moment he did, Yami cast his spell, which sent the other boy flying back. His sword clattered against the stone loudly as he dropped it.

While the thief recovered, Yami quickly snatched up the sword. Only problem was it was a bit too heavy for him, so he ended up grabbing it with both hands and more dragging that carrying it. He stopped a few yards away from the other boy, dropping and stepping over the sword to keep it out of range, and casting a simple spell to cause two triple-bladed daggers drop into his waiting hands. The prince smirked. He'd have to thank Seth for the spell later.

Though it turns out he wouldn't need to use the weapons, because Spot had woken up again and run out into the courtyard. She pounced upon the recovering thief and pinned him, snarling but otherwise doing nothing.

Yami smiled. "Very good timing." He told the cat, coming forward to stand a foot or two to the side of the leopardess and thief. He looked down at the white haired boy. "Bad timing on your part." He added thoughtfully.

"You got a gods-damned leopardess!" The thief exclaimed in shock. "How do you-? Where did-?" He stammered out.

"I rescued her, and she was in my room." Yami pointed at the open glass door. "When she heard the fight, she came to my aid."

Spot snarled again in accent to the prince's words.

"...Shit..." The white haired boy cursed again, at a loss of a way to save himself at the moment. "I didn't expect you to have a leopardess."

Yami shrugged. "If you'd done your research you would have known. It not a secret or anything. In fact," He commented, looking amused. "We let people know that so that people WOULDN'T try to assassinate me."

The thief made a face at him. "Ha. Did it work?"

"For everyone but you so far, yes." Yami replied, smirking.

"Too bad." The other boy said, glaring at him. "You're damn annoying."

"I try." Yami responded calmly. "Though I don't think you're in much of a place to be insulting me. It's my leopardess that is about to eat you."

The thief growled darkly, knowing the other boy was right. But maybe he could do something... Going for a last ditch attempt, he clawed at the cat's face with his fingers. It had the desired result; the leopardess reeled back and shifted her weight off of him, giving him a chance to spring up and take off. Only problem was that Yami immediately moved to block him, causing the thief to slam into him and send both of them tumbling into the large fountain.

The white haired boy detangled himself from the prince, the other gasping for air and shaking the water from his eyes, and then began scrambling away again. Yami wasn't about to let him leave, however, and twirled quickly and grabbed the back of his soaked cloak, pulling him back into the water.

The thief snarled in frustration and whirled around, taking a fistfull of the prince's hair and tossing him of the fountain. Yami yelped both from the pulling his hair and from landing hard on the ground on his behind, but got to his feet again in time to see Spot once again pounce on the retreating thief.

Sighing slightly Yami made his way over, rubbing at his head annoyedly and beginning to wring out his long hair. He stopped next to the thief, who was looking about as exhausted as he was. "That hurt..." The prince commented, pouting slightly.

"If your hadn't grabbed me first I wouldn't have had to pull you hair." The white haired boy responded, sighing as well and looking a bit fearfully up at Spot before returning his attention to the prince. "I'm impressed, though. Not many people can catch me."

"I'm not many people." Yami responded tiredly, sitting down. "And I want to know who you are. Exactly."

The thief sighed, weighing his options. He was currently pinned under a leopard that he was sure was too smart to pull the same trick once. He could feel the magic swirling around the other boy, which meant he was a ready for a spell if he needed it. It wouldn't really hurt to elaborate, he decided. "My name if Bekhura. Like I said, I'm the King of Thieves."

Yami tilted his head. "You're only a little older than me."

"So? How old are you, anyway?" Bekhura asked.

"Six." Yami replied, nodding once to emphasise his words. "You?"

"Almost nine." Bekhura responded truthfully, watching Yami give him a look that was a cross between amusement and surprise.

"How are you the king of thieves when you're only eight?" He asked, a bit of curiosity making it's way into his voice.

Bekhura thought for a moment, before smirking. "Well, I certainly wasn't born into my position, unlike some." He commented, watching with satisfaction as Yami's expression changed to annoyance. "I'm simply the best."

"Then the others must be very bad." Yami deduced, crossing his arms. "Because, from what I've seen, you're a terrible failure."

"Oh shut up, would you?" Bekhura asked, glaring darkly. "I already told you, this is not the way things usually go. You weren't supposed to be awake, let alone awake AND a sorcerer."

Yami shrugged. "Life isn't always predictable."

"Gods, you're annoying." Bekhura commented again, still glaring. "And get this big-ass cat off me!"

Yami shook his head calmly. "Not happening. Especially not until I get some more answers. Where are you from?"

Bekhura's glare deepened in intensity, but he responded anyway. "Kulu Eluna."

Yami tilted his head. "Never heard of it..."

"I'm not surprised." Bekhura responded, sighing and glancing at the sky. He looked back at Yami, and noticed something he'd forgotten. "Oi, prince. You're bleeding."

Yami blinked in surprise and then remembered the cut in his shoulder. Looking at it, he realised Bekhura was right. It wasn't bleeding much, since the cut was shallow, but he placed his hand over the injury to stop what flow there was. "Thank you. I'd forgotten about it."

Bekhura shrugged, as much as he could with a bored looking leopardess sitting on him.

Yami thought for a moment. "Why are you a thief?" He asked suddenly.

Bekhura just looked at him. "What a silly question." He commented. "I'm a thief because I have no money. Obviously."

Yami looked down at him. "What about your parents?"

"Dead." Bekhura said, not seeming all that sad about it. He seemed about to say something more, but stopped.

Yami looked sympathetic. "I'm sorry." He said.

Bekhura shrugged again, but didn't respond.

Yami considered for a moment, looking at the ground. Finally, he spoke up. "How would you like to live here at the palace?"

Bekhura almost did a double take. How would he like to WHAT? Was this prince stupid? He's just tried to kill him! "Prince, do you like living on the edge or something?"

Yami laughed at that. "Sort of. But I'm serious. I sense that you're not really all that bad. I truly want to help."

The white haired boy was baffled. "That's just plain stupid. I tried to kill you. I could do it and succeed easily if I am in the palace."

Yami smiled lightly. "I have a feeling that if you really intended to kill me, you wouldn't be warning me against it."

Bekhura considered that for a moment and found that the prince was right.

"So, yes or no?" Yami asked, tilting his head again. "Make up your mind." He wasn't worried about the thief attacking him in the slightest. Even if he did, which was unlikely, the prince had so many passive shields up when he slept that it was next to impossible to even touch him, let alone try to do him harm.

It only took a few seconds for Bekhura to make his choice. "Yes. I'll stay at he palace." He said, feeling a mixture between gratitude and complete shock that the prince had offered him something like that.

Yami smiled, and motioned to Spot. The leopardess got up lazily and meandered back into Yami's room as Yami helped Bekhura up. "Welcome to the palace!" He said cheerfully, excited about his new friend.

Bekhura just blinked, shocked at how fast the prince had gone from cool and witty to happy and childish. The other boy's next question made him not care, however. "Would you like something to eat?"

The white haired thief's stomach growled loudly in response. Yami laughed. "That answers that. Come on, I'll take you to the kitchens." The prince grabbed the sleeve of his robes, and they suddenly remembered they were both still very wet.

"Maybe we should change first." Bekhura suggested. "My bag is on the courtyard wall, I'm going to go get it." He informed the smaller boy, before doing exactly as he said. He rummaged around in it for spare robes and, finding them, began to change. Yami dug out a new set of robes identical to the ones he wore and changed as well, then grabbed some cloth and began to bandage his arm awkwardly.

Bekhura took pity on his and assisted the boy, trying the bandage gently but firmly in place.

The two snuck out of Yami's room and, about 15 minutes later, were back in it with snacks. Yami glanced outside where the sun was beginning to rise. "It's morning!" He exclaimed brightly.

Bekhura laughed as he enjoyed his food. He was surprised by how quickly he'd gone from wanting to kill the boy next to him to becoming very fond of him. Oh well. Going with the flow had always been his favorite form of planning.

The two finished their snack, and Yami began explaining to Bekhura about what he was doing that day.

"The king of India's coming?" Bekhura echoed, looking amused. "Oh, that sounds fun. Boring talk between old men."

Yami nodded his agreement. "Yes, that about sums it up."

"Hm. Maybe the life of a prince isn't all fun after all." Bekhura mused, earning a laugh from Yami.

"Yes, it's not quite all it's thought to be." The boy agreed, standing up and beginning to gather his jewelry. "It quite dull much of the time, actually." He looked out at the sunrise again. "I have to get to my morning classes..."

"You have classes this early?" Bekhura asked, glancing at the sun as well.

"Not every day." Yami answered, shaking his head as he put in his earrings. "But sometimes, yes. And since the rest of the day will be taken up, I had to have classes pushed back and rescheduled. I don't think it's very productive, because I'm not sure how I'm supposed to focus on alchemy this early, but it's not worth arguing over."

Bekhura nodded a bit. "What do you want me to do when you're gone?"

Yami looked back over at him. "Just stay here. I have a bit more food under the bed, and a fruit tree in the courtyard, so eat if you get hungry. I'll be back in the afternoon, I think."

Bekhura nodded again. Watching the smaller boy dart around, he considered his next words. "Thank you, by the way." He finally said.

Yami stopped and turned towards him. He suddenly smiled brightly. "You're welcome. I'm glad to have met you."

Bekhura laughed and nodded. "Same."

Yami gave him another smile. "See you later." He said, waving once before heading for the door. He stopped once he reached them and looked back, as if remembering something. "Spot! Mafdet!" He called, and both cats lifted their heads to look at him. "Be nice to him!"

Bekhura smirked as the cats made faces but meowed or gave a small yowl in response. And with that, Yami was out the door.

* * *

Two hours later Yami sighed and began making his way toward the dining hall, his thoughts on the events of the morning. It certainly had been strange.

A common but still amusing thing reminded Yami that life was still the same as Jono raced by, cackling madly with Seth hot on his heels. The future priest was shouting something unintelligible, but his robes were splattered with mud and Yami assumed that had something to do with it. He smiled and shook his head, continuing toward the throne room.

He made it to the room with a bit of time to spare, taking up a spot beside Mahaado and Simon. A few minutes of waiting later, a still slightly muddy Seth raced into the room, shoved with Mahaado a bit for position, and managed to get between the older boy and Yami just as the door opened and the king of India and his travelling party entered.

First came a mass of guards, followed by scribes and two scholars. One who was apparently some sort of magician followed, then the king himself. They all stopped and their king made his way through the now parted crowd to stand in front of Akunamukannon. Both kings dipped their heads toward each other, but weren't overly formal.

Yami knew the king of India from two years earlier. His name was Tayib, and Yami actually liked him a lot. He was very kind and fair, and even respectful to the people below him, especially the future priests and Yami himself.

"Welcome again to Egypt." Akunamukannon said, giving a smile to Tayib. "I trust your trip was safe?"

"Quite safe, actually. Not a single problem the whole way." Tayib said, smiling as well and stroking his long dark beard a few times.

"Well, you have great timing." Akunamukannon commented. "Just in time for breakfast."

Yami snorted mentally. 'Of course he is.' The prince thought dryly. 'That's how it was planned.'

Tayib, however, played along. "Wonderful." He said, smiling still.

"I you'll follow me into the dining hall..." Akunamukannon said, before turning and beginning to lead everyone towards the hall.

The precession made their way through a few halls before making it's way into the dining hall itself. The hall was huge, with two table in the center, both made of expensive wood and set with brass plates and dishes. The large table was for everyone not involved in the meeting directly, and the smaller was for the two kings and whoever they chose to have with them. It was smaller so both kings could sit at the heads of the table without having to shout halfway across the room.

Everyone made their ways to their spots; Akunamukannon and Tayib taking seats at the heads of the smaller table with Yami to Akunamukannon's right and Simon to his left, and Mahaado to Yami's right and Akunadin to Simon's left. Two of Tayib's advisors were to Akunadin's left and Mahaado's right.

Food was served, and everyone began eating. Akunamukannon, however, wasted no time in getting to the reason for Tayib's visit. "You said you needed something from Egypt." He said. "What was that?"

Yami, Mahaado, Akunadin, and Simon all about fell from their chairs at the bluntness of that. Tayib, however, was unfazed and simply set down the fruit he was eating. He laced his fingers. "Well, you know, of course, that two years ago India came to Egypt's aid in the brief skirmish to the south two years ago. At that time, you said that Egypt would repay India when it was needed."

Akunamukannon caught on. "You need that debt paid?"

Tayib nodded. "We're in a bit of a financial predicament. We need some of Egypt's gold."

Yami tilted his head slightly, wondering what his father would say in response to that.

The Pharaoh considered for a second before responded. "I'm sorry, Tayib. I'm afraid it isn't possible at this time."

Yami's head immediately snapped towards him. He knew for a fact that was a lie. He was involved in the financial status of the country, and he knew that Egypt was extremely wealthy. Certainly wealthy enough to help India. And so, doing something very stupid, Yami fixed his father with a cold glare and spoke. "That's not true."

Simon almost had a heart attack right then and there. "Atem!" He said, shocked.

Yami didn't take notice, continuing to glare. His father's face turned more than a bit red. "Atem." He spat out. "Be silent."

Tayib was staring with a mixture of surprise, astonishment, and gratitude at Yami. He was a bit worried as well; it wasn't exactly a smart move, even for a prince, to call down the king a nation.

Yami, however, was undeterred by the looks of the other and the words of his father. "I won't." He said, narrowing his eyes. "I don't tolerate lying."

"ATEM." Akunamukannon's voice boomed and echoed from the high ceilings, reverberating around the room and causing everyone else to fall quiet. "Be. Silent."

Yami shook his head angrily. "No."

Akunamukannon stood up, causing Simon to also shoot to his feet and murmer something hurriedly to the Pharaoh. Akunamukannon shot him with a glare and said something back which was too quiet to hear but was obviously not nice. Yami rose as well, brushing his long cape back out of way and setting his hands on the table. "Why don't you leave Simon alone. It's me you're angry with, so stop yelling at others and actually face me."

Akunadin and Mahaado shot each other looks that asked the question. Did their prince have a death wish, or was he just stupid?

Akunamukannon did exactly what Yami had said, whirling back towards the boy. He reached out silently and grabbed the boy's left wrist, before pulling him out of the room and down a hallway. Yami began to get the feeling he'd made a mistake.

Once in the throne room and out of sight and hearing of the others, Akunamukannon released him and suddenly Yami found himself on the ground, his head spinning and his vision going out of focus and then coming back many times. It took him a few moments to realise he'd been struck, and a few more after that to clear his head enough to pull himself up to his knees. In shock, Yami put a hand to his face. He'd been hit by the more strict teachers before, though they'd quickly learned he wouldn't tolerate it when he did something like burn their eyebrows off, but a slap had been the extent of anything harsh from his father. He'd fully expected a slap or three for his outright defiance of authority, but not a backhand.

Akunamukannon took a handful of his cape and pulled him harshly to his feet, bringing their faces close together. "Don't you EVER do something like that again, Atem, or I'll do far worse than just hit you. Do you understand me?"

Yami stared up at him, for the first time feeling actually afraid of his father. Mutely, still a bit dazed, he nodded.

"Good." Akunamukannon said, dropping his hold on the boy and letting him sink back to his knees. "Don't come back to the hall." He said, before sweeping back out of the room.

Yami stared after him, going over what had just happened. Or at least attempting to; his vision was still swimming and a horrible pounding had taken up in his head. Shakily he stood with the help of the wall, before making his way out of the room and down the hallway.

It seemed to take forever to reach his room, and opening his first set of double doors he was met with the confused and slightly worried face of Bekhura. The thief's eyes widened at the sight of the prince, gently putting his hands on his shoulders. "What happened!?" He asked, feeling oddly protective of the smaller boy.

"Nothing." Yami mumbled, dipping his head. "I was just stupid."

Bekhura didn't press the conversation, leading the prince through the second set of doors and into the main room. He carefully helped the disoriented prince to his bed, and Yami sat down gratefully.

Bekhura began helping remove the huge amounts of gold jewelry the smaller boy wore before Yami flopped back on his bed, looking exhausted. Bekhura leaned over and was about to ask him a question when the two heard the first set of double doors open. Both panicked as they realised someone was coming in, but Bekhura didn't hide fast enough and in came Seth, looking a bit pale. He got even paler as he spotted the white haired boy leaning over his friend. "Who the hell...?"

Bekhura stared at him in confusion, wondering the exact same thing. Yami however nearly panicked. "Seth! What are you doing here!?"

Seth looked at him, then looked back at Bekhura. "I was worried." He replied, his eyes fixated on the thief. "Who the hell is this?"

Bekhura, unable to help himself, stood up. He smirked. "I'm the grand Thief King, Touzoku Ou Bekhura."

Seth just stared. His eyes shot back to Yami. "What the hell is he doing here!? He's a thief!"

Yami floundered. "He-... I-... He's-..." He stammered, shaking his head to try to clear it. "He's okay, Seth, he's not a danger..."

The future priest looked unconvinced. "Then why the hell do you look so bad?"

Bekhura glared. "I didn't do anything to him, you stupid boy."

Seth turned his attention back toward him. "Like I'll believe you, thief."

"You should, because for once I"m telling the truth!" Bekhura shot back, getting angry.

Yami's pupils dialated slightly. "Please don't fight." He murmured softly. "I've got enough to deal with without the two of you at each other's throats."

Either the other two didn't hear him or they didn't care, continuing their squabbling. Yami took a few deep breaths, the spinning of the room worsening even though he wasn't even moving. "Bekhura, Seth..."

It didn't really help. The two still went at each other, trading childish insults incessantly. Stress and pain combined together to produce a heavy feeling that along with his headache began to cause his eyelids to flutter though he tried to stay awake.

It all finally became too much for him, and darkness invaded his vision before he lost awareness.

* * *

"This is your fault, you haughty-ass priest wannabe!"

"My fault!? I didn't do anything to him! And you're the ass. I'm not a wannabe, nor a lowly thief. Dealing with you is probably what got him so stressed in the first place."

"Yeah, right. He was fine when he left the room this mooring."

"Like you would know when someone was fine. YOU certainly aren't fine."

"You cocky little bastard..."

Yami groaned and put a hand to his head, his eyes fluttering open to see both Bekhura and Seth hovering over him anxiously. Yami smiled a bit mentally. Apparently they had forgotten their argument in favor of worry for him. He would have been touched had he not been so confused at the feeling that it was a very different time than he'd last known.

"... What happened?" Yami asked, blinking a few times up at them.

Bekhura and Seth exchanged looks, before returning their focus to the prince. "You passed out." Bekhura explained to him.

Yami blinked again, beginning to remember. "How long ago was that?"

Again Bekhura and Seth exchanged glances. "About two hours." Seth answered this time.

Yami sighed heavily. "Gods, how could I have done something so stupid?" He murmured.

"Yeah, about that..." Bekhura began, glaring once at Seth then returning his attention to Yami. "Who the hell had the nerve to strike you?"

Yami sighed. "The one person who can get away with it." He muttered, sitting up. He touched his face and winced slightly. Again, he sighed. "But it doesn't matter. I deserved it."

Seth shrugged. "Well, what you did WAS stupid." He commented, causing Yami to look up at him sadly and Bekhura to shoot him a nasty glare. "But," The brunette continued calmly, earning an even darker glare from Bekhura at the pause, "I don't think it warranted what he did."

Yami sighed again, falling back on the bed. "I'm going back to sleep..." He muttered in a depressed voice. "Don't kill each other."

"Wouldn't dream of it, little prince." Bekhura said, smirking slightly and shooting an amused glance at Seth. "But broken bones are alright, yes?"

Yami gave a weak glare without much feeling behind it, before rolling over onto his side. He drifted to sleep quickly and as soon as he did, Seth turned to look at Bekhura. "What do you think?" He asked.

Bekhura shrugged slightly. "I think he has a concussion, actually." He said casually. At Seth's expression of horror, he snickered. "I'm not serious, priesty."

Seth scowled. "This isn't something to joke about, thief."

Bekhura frowned at him as well and crossed his arms. "Fine." He finally conceeded. "You're right."

"Of course I am." Seth muttered, sitting down on the edge of Yami's bed and looking over the prince once in concern. "I'm always right."

That earned a snort from the thief. "I doubt that for some reason."

"No one asked you." Seth responded, glaring. "Why don't you shoo for awhile?"

"Can't." Bekhura answered blandly, uncrossing his arms and setting a hand on his hip.

"And why's that?" Seth questioned, tilting his head slightly.

"Prince's guest." He answered, yawning.

Seth just glared at him and went back to watching the sleeping boy.

* * *

Sunlight fell on Yami's eyes, and he stirred slightly. A soft mumble followed the movement, before he rolled over to his other side to get out of the sun.

At just that moment he realised he was awake, and it was morning. That meant he had things to do; things he was probably late for. His eyes snapped open and he shot upright, but then blinked at the sight of Seth snoring lightly, kneeling on the floor with his arms crossed on the edge of the bed and his head on his hands, and Bekhura asleep sprawled out on the floor. Spot was curled up with the thief, and Mafdet had perched herself on his chest.

Again, he blinked, before the events of the day before came flooding back to him. He sighed and gingerly touched his face, where he was sure a huge bruise had formed, and then sighed again. No time to continue mulling over that, however. He'd wasted an entire day on that, and now he had things that needed to be done.

His movements awoke Seth, who opened and closed his eyes blearily a few times before raising his head to look at the prince. "... Yami?" He whispered, rewarded with a smile from the other boy. "How are you?"

Yami considered for a few moments. "Better." He responded, also in a whisper so as not to wake Bekhura. He slowly got out of bed, frowning as he realised he'd fallen asleep in his clothes. Seth chuckled softly at the expression on the other boy's face, and stood up. The to-be priest stretched, before stepping over to wake Bekhura while Yami looked for a change of clothes.

Seto nudged the thief's side gently with his toe, and promptly found himself on his back on the floor. Bekhura was scowling at him, having apparently yanked his foot out from underneath him. "Do you have a single ounce of intelligence?" The white haired boy asked.

Seth glared darkly. "I didn't expect you to freak out."

"You'd be surprised if someone poked you when you were asleep!"

Yami sweatdropped. He had a feeling that now that Bekhura was here, he'd be getting very little peace. Oh well. He never got that much anyway.

The prince selected blue and white robes, much like Seth's, and changed while the other two boys continued bickering. One of them, Yami thought it was Bekhura, was muttering something about a hippopotomi, or at least he was until Seth pounced on him and began pulling his hair. Bekhura shrieked like a little girl and grabbed the brunette's hair as well, and they both yanked until they were in a fullblown catfight.

Spot and Mafdet both took that opportunity to walk away.

Sweatdropping again, Yami watched the two fight. Hesitantly, he cleared his throat, and at that both Seth and Bekhura froze. It was a very amusing picture, with Seth's hat having toppled off to the side due to Bekhura having a handful of Seth's hair, and likewise, Seth had a good hold on Bekhura's. Both looked innocently at Yami, however.

"... I won't ask." Yami commented, earning embarrassed looks from the other two. "I just wanted to tell you both that I'm going to go find Simon and see how many classes I missed yesterday."

Seth released Bekhura and so Bekhura did the same, and the brunette stood up and brushed dust from his robes before turning back to Yami. "Actually, Simon came by to check on you yesterday after you fell asleep. He asked me to tell you not to worry about what you missed."

That brought a small smile to Yami's face. "That's good." He commented, his attitude beginning to shift back to his usual cheeriness. "One less thing to worry about. But I bet that made the other teachers mad..." Yami got a devious smirk.

Seth laughed. "You really don't like them, do you?"

The younger boy smirked. "I think they don't like ME more."

"Did I miss something?" Bekhura asked, running his fingers through his hair to detangle it a bit after the catfight.

Seth snickered and looked at him. "Just an inside joke."

Yami shook his head, smiling. "Don't worry about it, Bekhura." He looked between his two friends. "But I really have to go find Simon. I'll bring back some more food for you later, Bekhura, though there still should be some left in here." The prince turned to leave, then looked over his shoulder. "See you later!" he called, before dashing out of the room.

It only took Yami a few minutes to make it to the room Simon where was usually waiting for him. However, the older man wasn't there. Yami frowned, glancing one more time around the large room, before sighing. He probably wasn't there because it was later than when Yami usually met up with him.

The prince leaned against the wall, thinking of where the vizier could be. The throne room was a logical choice, but his father was likely to be there as well and he really didn't feel like facing him again just yet. His thoughts, however, were cut off when he sensed someone coming toward him.

It was one of the last people Yami wanted to see; Nebenkharu. Idly, the boy wondered where the man had been the day before, but stopped wondering when the man came to a halt in front of him.

"My my prince, what happened to your pretty face?" Nebenkharu asked, slick voice sounding anything but concerned. He leant down a bit and reached out, obviously to touch Yami's cheek, but the boy's glare stopped him dead. The man took his hand away and straightened as if nothing had happened, but was apparently still awaiting a response to his question.

Yami didn't give him one. Still glaring, the prince spun on his heel and strode purposefully down the corridor, entirely disregarding the advisor. Nebenkharu stared after him, before a small smirk grew on his face. "Ignore me while you can, prince. Soon I'll be so powerful you can't just pretend I don't exist..."

Yami didn't hear a word of Nebenkharu's soft proclamation, already out of sight around a corner. Once he was away from the man, Yami gave a shudder. The advisor was seriously creepy, and his aura was more than a little sinister feeling.

He continued down the hallway, still looking for Simon. It became apparent quickly, however, that Simon wasn't in one of the polished corridors, and most likely in the throne room. Giving up his wish to stay away from that room, Yami gathered his courage and made his way toward it. Stopping just outside, he leaned his head in and glanced around. He was right, both Simon and his father were there, along with the priests and Mahaado. Tayib and the precession he'd brought with him were as well, seemingly just about to leave.

Yami slipped into the room quietly and unnoticed, coming to stand by Simon much like he had the day before. Simon glanced at him in surprise, but then returned his attention toward the king of India.

Tayib didn't appear to be in the best of moods, and Akunamukannon didn't either. They weren't looking much at each other, and Yami realised with a small feeling of guilt that it was most likely because of him. But the guilt faded away as he reminded himself that this wouldn't have happened if his father wasn't a liar.

The group Tayib had brought with him, finally in the correct order, began making their way out of the palace. As he was about to leave, Tayib looked back, and spotted Yami. To the prince's surprise, the man smiled at him and Yami had enough time to smile back before the doors of the palace closed.

The formalities over, the priests and the Pharaoh broke their rigid stances and scattered a bit, spreading out to do various things. Simon turned toward Yami.

"How are you today?" He asked gently, smiling kindly at the prince.

Yami tilted his head slightly and smiled back. "I'm alright, Simon. Better than yesterday."

Simon ruffled his hair, getting a small giggle from the boy. "That's good. I was worried."

Yami looked up at him. "You shouldn't worry about me." He said softly.

Simon smiled again. "I can't help it." He ruffled Yami's hair again and got another giggle and a few swats at his hand by the prince.

"Stop messing up my hair!" Yami protested, mock glaring.

"It's not like it'd be any worse than it was to begin with." Simon replied, smirking and continuing to mess with the long strands. "That'd be a feat in itself."

"And stop making fun of me!" The boy added, laughing. "You're so mean, Simon!"

Simon laughed as well but released him. He smiled as Yami fixed his hair, pouting slightly as he did so.

Simon knew that, the queen having died, he was the person who cared most for the prince. Yami trusted him completely, something that couldn't be said about any other adult in the palace, not even Yami's father. It was pretty much assured what trust Yami had in his father was shot after the events of the day before.

The trust that Yami had in Simon came into play just a few moments later. The prince look up at the older man, giving very cute eyes. Simon sighed, because he knew that meant the boy was either going to ask him for something, or tell him something he wouldn't like.

"Simon... I need to tell you something. Will you promise me you won't be upset?"

Simon sighed again. It was both this time. Asking him something and wanting to tel him something he wouldn't like. But he nodded. "I won't be upset. What is it, Yami?"

Yami looked down for a moment, then back up. "Well, yesterday morning, I went out to my courtyard..."

* * *

Simon looked at Bekhura, then back at Yami. Then back to Bekhura, who had plastered a huge smile on his face, then to Yami, who's eyes had gone cute and huge. Then to Bekhura, who's smile had, amazingly, grown wider and was to the point of being able to give children nightmares, then back to Yami who's attention span had obviously been taxed because he'd already left to get food for his cats.

Simon sighed, and looked back at Bekhura. The white haired boy looked back at him and shrugged.

The man sighed heavily. "I just don't even care." He muttered. He wasn't sensing any malice from the boy and wasn't concerned about Yami's well being while around him, especially since the prince had already spent a lot of time with him alone, so he could see no reason why to object. "Go ahead and stay. Just keep out of sight of Yami's father, for everyone's sakes."

Bekhura smirked and nodded. "I'm a tomb robber. I can sneak past people like..." He trailed off as Simon crossed his arms and glared at him. The white haired boy looked sheepish. "...Never mind."

Simon almost laughed, and rolled his eyes. "Good." He said, smirking. "Welcome to the palace, Bekhura."

Bekhura grinned back and put a hand on his hip. "Could you even kick me out?"

Simon raised an eyebrow. "What?" He questioned.

"If you had wanted to, could you override the prince's decision and have me kicked out?" Bekhura clarified, looking curious.

Simon smirked again, now that he understood what Bekhura has meant. "Yes. I can override Yami. He is only six, after all."

"You royals are strange." Bekhura decided, sitting down on Yami's bed with Mafdet and Spot. "You'd think that the prince would have power over everyone but the Pharaoh..."

"Not when the prince is a boy with uncontrolled magic and a tendency towards brash decisions." Simon responded, looking amused. "Is that all you wanted to know?"

Bekhura laughed. "I suppose so. Besides the reason for why you're so short."

Simon put his hands on his hips and raised his eyebrow again. "You're pushing it."

Before Bekhura could respond, Yami returned with bowls of food for the cats. They immediately jumped off the bed and ran over, both sticking their faces in their bowls almost instantly.

The prince looked at the two, and smiled. "Getting along?"

"He won't tell me why he's short." Bekhura commented, playing with one of his bangs.

"Would you give up on that?" Simon asked, his expression returning to amused. "You're not too tall either."

"But I'm not an adult yet."

"But I am."

"...So?"

Yami smiled again and laughed, petting his cats while Simon and Bekhura argued. Maybe things weren't so bad after all.

* * *

**A/N**: ... Yeah.

This chapter was written in parts, so if some scenes are better quality writing than others, that explains it. XD And, as you likely noticed, I tried to tie in some of the things in Eien (such as some things about the dream) with this ficcy. Since that was the point of this fic, after all. XD

Anyway, please review and give me an ego boost! XD


	5. Adventures in the city

**_Special note:_** Monday night (two hours ago, as I write this), my first cat died. His name was Pause, and we think he had a heart attack. So I'm dedicating the rest of the story to him, and to all the other cats who have left us, but touched our lives.  
  
**A/N:** Well, didn't take TOO long to put this chapter out, and it's about the same length as last chapter. Good, yes? And the plot is back! (It has a cameo. XD) This chapter has a bit of everything; some (teeny bit) of action, and lots of humor, cuteness, chibis, and mischief.  
  
**YamiAra:** XD Glad you liked. Actually, with the part about Bekhura screaming like a girl, there was more stuff along those lines but they were cut. I may post them somewhere and give a link sometime, if it's wanted. XD  
  
XD They ARE rather mature kids... Glad you like the chapter and thanks for the review.   
  
**Starlit Hope:** Yup, Yami and Bekhura are friends. They'll be getting in a lot fo trouble together... Thanks for the review!  
  
**ShadowSpirits:** Glad you liked the scene with Yami and Bekhura and falling in the fountain. XD There was another version of that scene that was more humor related, but it didn't fit with the chapter. I posted it on my LJ however. Glad you liked the chapter. And do work on your fics. Pokepoke XD  
  
**AuroraIce:** I dunno about the Email... Thinks I'm a ditz. Shall have to go back and find it later. It wasn't really important, but I sould send it to you again if I can find it. I'm glad you liked the chapter and thanks for the review.  
  
**Silver Nightingale:** I'm glad you liked the dream, and cute Bekhura. I wanted him to be cute when little but wasn't sure if people would like it. Happy you do.   
  
Yami's stubborness will be getting him in more trouble later on. XD Because what would this fic be without it?  
  
Glad you liked the chapter. Thanks for the review!  
  
**Meeko-san:** Thank you! And thanks for the review. Don't squeeze Bekhura too hard though. He bites. XD  
  
**Ryuujin Dragon King:** I'm glad you're liking. Thanks for the review!  
  
**Borath:** Super-giant review! Dead from happiness.  
  
Snickers at comment about Yami dreaming about Bekhura  
  
Ah, yes. XD You're absolutely right about the giving away the position thing. Take it as a temporary lapse of intelligence on Bekhura's part? XD He has to have at least one a chapter. XD  
  
Spot is quite handy. XD And it is quite observant of Bekhura, isn't it? Snicker  
  
And there goes Yami's stupid move of the chapter. XD Oh, wait, he has a few more this chapter... Okay, Yami's just stupid. XD Can we go with that? XD  
  
The Es Factor! XD I have no idea what happened with this. Fanfiction.net went crazy or something. Kicks it Am calling it The Dreaded Es Error or simply, The Es Factor. XD It's fixed, though. XD I think.  
  
Glad you thought the scene with the Indian king were well thought out.   
  
Very happy you like the scenes between Seth and Bekhura, since they're gonna be interacting a lot.  
  
XD! So amused to hear you say Nebenkharu reminds you of Jafar. Jafar is who I think of every time I'm writing him. XD Glad you liked Simon too, and the last scene with Bekhura and Simon.  
  
You have boosted my ego a bit. And thanks a bunch for the huge review!  
  
**lilmatchgirl:** Glad you liked, and thanks for the review!  
  
**Other Notes:** The Hebrew spell killed me. XD I did my best, but I'm sure the grammar is awful. Though since this is a fanfiction, I can get away with it, yes? I tried, at least. XD But Hebrew is a confusing language...  
  
Also, you'll notice when you read it that it is all lower case. That's not a mistake, since I know that Hebrew is has no 'case' as English has. So it's always lower case by default.  
  
In case anyone cares, the translation of the spell is very simple and frankly, boring. XD But here it is anyway. "Make us unseen by all we don't wish to see us."  
  
**Disclaimer:** Yugioh's not mine. Yeah. Inventive, aren't I?  
  
**Warnings:** Nothing, I don't think. Maybe slight language.  
  
**Summary of Last Time:** Bekhura made his less than grand entrance, Yami got into a fight with his father, and there was a bit of whining. XD  
  
**Preivew of this time:** The plot makes a cameo! Don't blink; you'll miss it! XD The boys sneak out of the palace, and the other characters make appearances as well, including one-year-old Mokuba.

* * *

Eien; part 5  
by: Amiasha  
  
Metal clanged loudly against metal as the swords met, before seperating just as quickly as they had come together.  
  
Yami backed up and held his falchion defensively, locking eyes with his opponent. Jono looked smug and confident, and he had a reason to; swordfighting was one place he could do better than Yami in. Academics, archery, healing, divination, and especially magic, Yami had him beat. But not in swordfighting.  
  
The blond brushed his hair back casually, smirking at the other boy. "Hey, at least you parried this time!" He called cheerfully.  
  
"You're amusing, Jono." Yami commented dryly, but he was smiling as well. He remembered well what had happened last time Jono had brought the weapon down toward him and he hadn't blocked. He was very lucky Simon had them practice with the bluntest of the swords, to say the least.  
  
Simon put his hands on his hips, overseeing the two's practice. "Boys, you need to stop chatting and continue practicing." He reminded.  
  
Jono took his advice and charged foward, taking a swipe at Yami. The smaller boy easily ducked and went past the blond, holding out his sword at the same time. Jono stumbled over the weapon, falling flat on his face.  
  
The prince blinked down at him, and Jono glared. "... I win, yes?" Yami asked Simon, looking amused. "Since I could just... I don't know... Chop off his head or something?"  
  
Simon sighed in exasperation as Yami helped Jono up, the blond's glare having disppeared and the boy started laughing. "Technically, yes." Simon admitted. "But you know tricks like that, clever as they may be, aren't going to help you learn to actually fight correctly."  
  
Yami sighed as well and nodded. "Yes, I know. You're right." He conceeded.  
  
Simon smiled at him, shaking his head. "Well, you two are free the rest of the afternoon. Have fun. And Yami, check on Seth. Last I saw Bekhura had gotten a hold of his headress."  
  
Yami snickered slightly. It had been half a year since Bekhura had come to stay at the palace, and he and Seth had been at each other constantly. As such, the white haired boy and Jono had become partners in crime in harassing the future priest.  
  
Jono looked a bit proud. "My plan worked, then." He said happily, puffing out his chest. As Yami and Simon both gave him looks, he deflated a bit. "...Erm..."  
  
Yami laughed. "Come on Jono. Let's go find Seth and Bekhura."  
  
Jono nodded and followed the prince as he left the room, both pausing to wave at Simon before leaving.  
  
Simon watched them go, then sighed, shook his head, and returned to straightening up the classroom.

* * *

"Don't you remember LAST time we did this?" Seth asked his friend, raising an eyebrow. The brunette was sitting on the edge of Yami's bed, his slightly disheveled headress in his lap.  
  
Yami was sitting crosslegged on the floor, smirking, Bekhura was standing with his back against one of the stone walls, arms folded, and Jono was kneeling next to the cats.   
  
"Of course I do." Yami said dismissively, waving a hand. "But this time it won't happen."  
  
"What are you two talkign about?" Bekhura asked, tilting his head slightly. "What exactly happened the last time you snuck out of the palace."  
  
Seth turned his attention toward the white haired boy, pointing at Yami. "He was nearly killed. And Mahado almost had a heart attack over it."  
  
Yami looked lazily over at the other boy. "That's why Mahaado's not coming. And I'll be fine. You worry too much, Seth."  
  
Seth frowned and crossed his arms, but didn't add a comment.  
  
The prince stood up, clapping his hands together once cheerily. "Well then, shall we go?" He asked, smiling brightly.  
  
"I assume you're not going out into the city like that." Jono commented, standing as well as he looked the boy over.   
  
Yami shook his head. "Of course not." He replied, beginning to pull off his jewelry. "I'll take off all this gold and get my cloak. You and Seth should do the same."  
  
Seth glared. "You act like a I'm coming on your adventure." He said darkly.  
  
Yami blinked, and looked over at him. "You're not?" He asked.  
  
The to-be priest was about to open his mouth to confirm that, but looked up into the prince's eyes and then seemingly changed his mind and sighed. "...Fine. I'll come, just to make sure these two don't loose you in their incredible stupidity."  
  
Twin exclamations of "Hey!" came from the two, both putting their hands on their hips at the same time.   
  
Seth looked at them, then at Yami, who giggled a little, before the brunette sighed again and stood up. "Well, let's get to it then so we can be back before dinner." He finally conceeded, beginning to remove his golden armbands. He shot a glance at Bekhura. "Don't get any ideas."  
  
Bekhura looked vaguely offended. "I don't steal Yami's jewelry." He commented.  
  
"You would steal mine." Seth said, casting another glare before piling his valubles with Yami's and going to fetch a cloak from Yami's closet. While the other boy was much smaller than him, he had a few cloaks that were too big and would fit Seth. Yami selected a deep green one, and Seth chose a more common brown.  
  
The prince ran a hand through his hair, messing with it for a few moments before the long stands broke from their usual style and fell around his shoulders. He then pulled up his hood, effectively hiding the exotic colored locks.  
  
Bekhura looked baffled. "Do you use magic to keep your hair up or something?" He asked, tilting his head.  
  
Yami looked over at him. "No, actually. It just stays that way unless I part it just right, then it falls down." At Bekhura's incredulous look, Yami frowned. "I have no idea why. Blame my mother. I inherited this hair from her."  
  
"Your mother must have been an odd woman." Bekhura commented, earning a swat with a pillow from Yami. The white haired thief snickered, fending off the object with his arm. "Well, it's true."  
  
Yami stopped beatign on the other boy, and tossed the pillow across the room. It smacked into Spot, who barely looked at it before putting her chin on it and going back to sleep.  
  
"Can we go yet?" Jono asked, looking impatient. The blond had also put on a cloak.  
  
"Just a second." Yami said, rumaging around in a drawer. "I have to find the invisibility spell. I haven't memorized it yet."  
  
Everyone sweatdropped as the prince dug out his spell. Yami frowned at the papyrus. "I remember why I haven't memorized it. It's in Hebrew and I can barely read it."  
  
Everyone sighed.  
  
"So, if you botch this, will it kill us?" Bekhura asked annoyedly, crossing his arms.  
  
Yami waved him off. "Of course not. It just won't work, or we'll get a different spell." The boy squinted at the writing on the papyrus. "Okay, I think I can read this. Everyone, gather together."  
  
The did as they were told, gathering into a circle. Yami held up the spell and began reading slowly. "_lanoo lo_... Um... _lanoo lo_..." The prince squinted again. "_lanoo lo neereh al_... _yedey_... Erm..."  
  
Everyone sighed again.   
  
"Can you read it or not?" Bekhura asked, beginning to loose patience.  
  
"Oh, be quiet." Yami said, glaring darkly. "I'm just forgetting some of the letters. I'll have it in a moment. Be quiet and wait."  
  
Bekhura shut up, and Yami went back to deciphering the spell, reading over it a few times before he began to speak again. When he did, it was clearer and more confident. "_lanoo lo neereh al'yedey kol totseret... anakhnoo la'asot lanoo lo leer'ot khefets_."  
  
A soft wind picked up, as it usually did when Yami cast spells. Bekhura's hair ruffled, Seth's, Jono's, and Yami's cloaks fluttered, and the candles placed around the room all flickered once before returning to normal.  
  
Yami smiled. "I think it worked. But this is a short spell; we only have about twenty-five minutes. So we need to get going."  
  
"If Simon realizes we're gone..." Seth began.  
  
"That's the point of 'sneaking', Seth." Yami said, smirking evilly. "Don't get caught."

* * *

"So where are we going, anyway?" Jono asked the prince, glancing over at him.  
  
Yami shrugged, a few strands of golden hair escaping from under the hood and shining in the sunlight. He tucked them behind his ears; gold not being a common color for hair in Egypt. Hence the reason Jono was also wearing his hood up.  
  
"Let's go raid some stands." Bekhura suggested amusedly, unsurprised when Seth galred at him.  
  
"We have money. No need to steal." The to-be preist said, frowning.  
  
Bekhura smirked. "But that takes the fun out of it."   
  
Yami sighed heavily. "No stealing, Bekhura." He said boredly.  
  
Bekhura made a face at him. "Then what exactly are we supposed to do?"  
  
The prince sighed and looked at him, coming to a halt. "Unlike you," He said, "I don't spend much time out of the palace. I'd like to just look around awhile."  
  
Bekhura stared at him, then sighed. "Whatever you wish, little prince."  
  
Yami smirked at him a bit, before returnign his attention to the city. The city was predominatly golden, with browns and whites accenting. People were everywhere, some leading horses, others shopping in the markets, and some looming in dark corners, waiting to steal things when people's backs were turned. One woman walked by them with her arms full of flowers, their scent drifting along after her past the four boys.  
  
By this time, Yami's eyes had gone shiney and both Seth and Jono had sighed. They knew what that look meant. The prince would want to go everywhere and see everything now that he was out of the palace, and there was likely no way they'd be able to get him back there before someone realized they were missing.  
  
Bekhura, meanwhile, had already started to lead Yami farther into the city. Jono and Seth both chased after them, not wanting to get seperated from them.  
  
They caught up to the other boys, who had stopped at a stand. Yami was admiring some glassworks, earning an amused look from the shopkeeper as the boy seemed to know the differene in the quality of the items.  
  
"Can I help you find something, little one?" The shopkeeper asked kindly, looking down at the prince. He figured the child was a merchant's son or someone else of equal status, and not a peasant boy. A peasant wouldn't be acting the way he was.  
  
Yami lifted his head slightly at the voice, his eyes meeting the man's and causing him to almost immeditely look away from the prince. "Somewhat. I'd like to buy this." He said, holding up a small glass lotus.  
  
"That's my best piece." The man said, smiling again after he got over how creepy the boy was. "It's also the most expensive."  
  
Yami smiled as well. "Tell me how much, and I'll see if I want to spend that much on it."  
  
Bekhura smirked as he watched the procedings carefully. He'd been putting a little bit of effort into trying to educate the prince on ways to deal with people out in the market, but so he'd thought far he'd been a bit unsuccessful as Yami wouldn't pay attention long enough for him to say much. But it seems he had gotten some of it through his head. The prince had asked in such a way that he gave the shopowner the impression he wouldn't spend much, and so the man probbaly wouldn't overcharge him in hopes the boy would purchase the item and not reject it.  
  
As it was, the man gave a price that was reasonable, and Yami bought the item. A discreet spell later, it was unbreakable and the prince tucked it into a small pouch he'd hidden under his cloak.  
  
"You just had to get SOMETHING, didn't you." Seth asked, more of a statement than a question, while rolling his eyes.  
  
Yami gave a smirk as the quartet continued down the street. "Yes, I did. Your point?"  
  
Seth sighed but didn't respond.   
  
"Ooh! Food!" Jono said cheerily, rushing over to a nearby food stand. The others chased after, the blond admiring some fruit as they caught up to him.  
  
Seth slapped his forhead with his palm, and Yami giggled. Bekhura joined Jono in the inspecting of the food, much to the annoyance of the stand owner who watched, his eye twitching a bit, as Bekhura picked up and considered every single one of the fruits.  
  
"Hey, get your hands off those if you're not going to buy them, ruffian." The man said, obviously not as kind as the previous shopkeeper. Bekhura and Jono were unbothered, and didn't even look up.  
  
Actually, the white haired thief was getting a smirk on his face, which both Yami and Seth knew meant he was planning something devious. What, exactly, they weren't sure.  
  
They were informed a moment later, when the man leaned forward to repeat his earlier words, and Bekhura just so happened to shove the fruit in his hand forward at the same time. It made a nice splatting noise on the man's face, and immediatly Bekhura cackled evilly and ran, the shopkeeper chasing after him.  
  
The other three boys sweatdropped, knowing the thief would join them again as soon as he lost the shopkeeper. It certainly wasn't the first time he'd done something of this sort.  
  
While the owner of the cart was distracted, a bunch of people swarmed on the stand and raided it quickly, dispersing as suddenly as they'd came, all looking innocent and walking away. Yami and Seth sweatdropped, and then sighed as Jono walked back over to them holding a few of the fruit himself.  
  
Yami looked up at Seth, and Seth looked down at Yami. "Just walk away." They both said quietly, turning and purposfully striding the opposite direction of the stand. "Hey, wait for me!" Jono called, and ran after them.  
  
True to their predictions, Bekhura joined them a few minutes later, looking amused. None of the other boys asked, letting the thief just smirk cheerfully.  
  
"Oi, little prince." Bekhura spoke up a few minutes of walking later. "How about going to see the Nile?"  
  
Yami's eyes lit up. He'd seen the Nile before of course, but not often. The prince nodded a few times, smiling.  
  
Bekhura beckoned to him, Jono, and Seth, and began leading them down a different road. The other three boys followed after him.  
  
It only took a few minutes to reach the river, and Bekhura led them to a place on the bank that was high above the actual surface of the water. Yami got onto his hands and knees and peered of the edge of the cliff in wonderment, while the other three boys stood around him.  
  
"Why are we up here?" Jono asked, blinking as he looked down. "Not that it's not a nice view, of couse."  
  
Seth chuckled and answered for Bekhura. "Because we don't want the prince eaten by crocodiles." He hesitated for a moment, seeming as if he was about to add something. Eventually, he did. "You, however, should feel free to go down and sit by the bank."  
  
Jono turned toward the priest, frowning. "Oh yeah, really funny. You think you're so clever."  
  
"But I am." Seth said casually, inspecting his nails boredly.   
  
Yami sighed as he sensed the fight picking up.  
  
"You're not clever in the slightest." Jono responded, his temper beginning to flare. "I'd be surprised if you were as clever as a rock!"  
  
"That'd be better than you." Seth responded icily, sneering at the blond.  
  
Jono snarled, and Yami stood up between them. "Really, you two." The prince said, sighing again as he held his hands up toward them. "Do you really think you two should be fighting around the riv-AH!" His words turned to a yell as Jono, who had been a bit more interested in fighting with Seth than listening, had lunged at the to-be priest, knocking into the smaller boy enough for Yami to loose his footing.  
  
Before he fell, however, the prince felt someone grab the back of his cloak and lift him clear off the ground, back up a pace, then set him back down and let go. Yami made a whimpering noise from fear and shock, clutching onto his rescuer's robes. When he heard the man's voice, he knew who it was.  
  
"You're damn lucky I'm not Simon or the Pharaoh." Akunadin's smooth voice came from above the prince's head.   
  
Yami had recovered enough by the time the prince had finished his words to let go of Akunadin, but didn't move any more than simply turning around for fear he'd slip again.  
  
"And," The man continued, glaring at both Seth and Jono. "You're lucky I was here, or your petty quibbling could very well have killed your prince. Some guards and priests you're making."   
  
He seemed to notice Bekhura for the first time, eyes narrowing as they fell on the boy's long white hair and narrowed brown eyes. "And just who are you?"  
  
Seth, Jono, and Bekhura all froze, unsure of what explanation to give, but Yami had one. He looked up at the priest. "Don't mind him. Simon knows who he is." He answered shakily.  
  
Akunadin turned his attention towards the boy. "He'd better. We'll find out, because I'm taking all of you back to the palace and Simon will be hearing about this mess. You know beter than to leave the palace without permission and guards, Prince Atem." He said, glaring sternly down at the boy. "And this is one of the reasons why. Worse could have happened than you nearly falling. This was INCREDIBLY stupid of you four."  
  
Yami dipped his head slightly and sighed. "I know." He admitted. "But it was my fault; I asked them to come with me."  
  
Akunadin didn't look much like he cared. "That doesn't matter. Follow me, boys. We're going back to the palace."  
  
The four boys sighed and began following after the man, somewhat dejectedly. That was, until Yami's attention was grabbed by something and he whipped his head aournd suddenly to stare off down the bank.  
  
Akunadin, Seth, and Jono, who were all ahead of the prince, didn't notice. Bekhura however turned to look as well.  
  
A man in a dark cloak was standing by the riverbank, obviously casting a spell of somesort by the amount of magic was radiating from him. Both boys scrunched their noses, Bekhura wondering if the man realized he wasn't shielding the magic at all.  
  
When Yami began making his way quietly toward the man, Bekhura blinked a few times and followed him. Still the other three didn't notice, continuing back to the palace without them.  
  
Yami quietly approached the man, as Bekhura tried to figure out why the prince was acting so strangely. He didn't ask however, simply following silently.  
  
The prince stopped moving forward once they were within hearing distance, hiding behind the corner of a building and watching the man. Bekhura stoped next to him, focusing on listening.  
  
The man was chanting the spell they'd been sensing, though the white haired thief couldn't tell what kind of spell it was. Yami's eyes however had narrowed darkly and turned slightly red, so Bekhura figured it wasn't something good.  
  
All of a sudden the man stopped chanting and turned, the two boys ducking back around the building and holding their breath as they hoped he hadn't seen them. It seemed he hadn't, since after staying perfectly still for over a few minutes he hadn't come near them.  
  
Yami chanced another glance, and noticed the man was gone. He sighed in relief as he spotted him returning to the palace, and not looking for them.  
  
"Who was that?" Bekhura asked, puttign his hands on his hips.  
  
Yami turned to look at him, eyes returning to violet gradually. "That was Nebenkharu."  
  
Bekhura nodded slightly. Yami had told him about the creepy advisor but Bekhura had never seen him before, having not been in the parts of the palace he would have met him. "What was he doing? I mean, what type of spell was he using?"  
  
Yami frowned again. "He was using Shadow magic directly from the Shdaow Realm, which he's not allowed to do." The prince sighed. "I'll have to tell Simon and hope he can convince my father to do something about it, since my father certainly won't listen to me..."  
  
Bekhura frowned as well, but nodded. Yami and his father hadn't been speaking much in the past months. They had meals at the same time, when everyone else in the palace staff did as well, but usually chose to ignore each other.  
  
"We had better return to the palace." Yami said, sighing again. "Akunadin will be furious."  
  
"But wouldn't it be fun to watch his face turn red?" Bekhura asked evilly, earning a light smack on the shoulder from the smaller boy.   
  
"It would be, but I'd prefer to get in as little trouble as possible." Yami reponded, makign his way back to the palace.  
  
"Oh, really?" The thief asked, his voice mimicking true surprise well. "You? Not want to get in trouble?"  
  
Yami laughed, brushing a gold lock of hair back under his cloak again and looking back at Bekhura as he walked. "Very funny."  
  
The two boys made it to the palace shortly, entering by Yami recasting the invisibility spell and the two scaling the wall of Yami's garden, which was never an easy feat. It was made easier by Yami's magic, however.  
  
The two found the Akunadin, Simon, Seth, and Jono were all waiting in Yami's room. Yami looked a little annoyed by this, but didn't comment. He didn't get much of a chance to even if he'd wanted, as Simon rushed forward and hugged him.  
  
Yami squeaked in surprise, blinking slightly. Simon let him go, sighing once and backing up a few paces before getting an annoyed look. "You scared me to death, Yami!" He scolded.   
  
Yami sheepishly looked at the ground. "You weren't really supposed to find out until we were back."  
  
Simon sighed again, chuckling. "I came to check on you because I had a feeling you'd pull a stunt like this."  
  
"You know him too well." Seth said, chuckling. His laughter stopped when Simon turned to look at him, not appearing too amused.  
  
"Yes, and that's why I trust him to be left with you. You're supposed to help keep him from doing things like this." The man told him, frowning.  
  
Seth sighed but nodded, and Yami tugged slightly on Simon's robes. "Simon," The prince said, "He really did try to keep me from going. I didn't listen to him and he came with me to help watch over me."   
  
Simon considered that for a moment, but didn't comment.  
  
"Oh!" Yami said suddenly, eyes widening as he remembered something he wanted to tell the vizier. "I need to let you know something."  
  
"What is it?" Simon asked, and Yami noted that Akunadin's intrest had been caught as well.  
  
"Bekhura and I saw Nebenkharu." The prince started. "He was off to the side along the bank of the Nile. We realized he was there because we sensed his magic."  
  
Jono and Seth had become intrested as well, focusing their attention on Yami as the boy spoke.  
  
"Normally, it wouldn't be all that unusual. After all, we all know how horrible Nebenkharu is at cloaking his magic, even for minor spells. But he was using Shadow magic, directly from the Shadow Realm without the slightest bit of a shield. He's not to be using magic like that anyway, and without trying to control it it's even more dangerous."  
  
Akunadin and Simon both nodded in agreement. "We'll tell your father." Simon promised. "Thouhg I have a feeling he won't do anything about it. He's been acting very strangely lately."  
  
Yami nodded as well. "Try not to let Nebenkharu know it was me who found out about this. He'll never leave me alone." He added.  
  
"We'll do our best." Akunadin said. He looked at Bekhura, then to Simon. "But first, who IS this?"  
  
Simon sweatdropped, as did the boys. "This is Bekhura." Simon answered slowly. "He was homeless, and Yami offered him a place here to stay."   
  
Yami smiled slightly, as did the other three boys. Simon was very good at telling half the truth.  
  
Akunadin seemed to buy that. "Alright then. Let's go inform the Pharaoh about Nebenkharu."  
  
Simon nodded, and the two men left. As they did, all four boys gave a cheer.   
  
"They forgot to punish us." Jono said, laughing.  
  
"Well, I think they were amused by possible being able to get the advisor in trouble." Seth commented, crossign his arms and smirking. "They don't like him either."  
  
"Who could like him?" Yami asked, shrugging and pulling down his hood. The boy ruffled his hair slightly until it stood back up. At Bekhura's stare, Yami rolled his eyes and snickered.  
  
The four looked up as they heard Yami's first set of doors open, and then the second doors opened as well. Anzu, Ryuuji, Honda, Mana, and Shizuka came in. Anzu was carrying a one-year old with long dark hair, who clung tightly to her. When he spotted Seth, his blue-gray eyes lit up. "Seth!" He exclaimed cheerfully, wigglign until Anzu put him down. He ran over to the brunette, and Seth picked him up.  
  
"Did you miss me, Mokuba? I was only gone a few hours." The to-be priest said, smiling at his little brother.  
  
Mokuba gave a serious face that nearly sent the others into giggles. "But you didn't say goodbye." The little boy accused.  
  
Seth laughed, which made Mokuba's glare turn to a smile. "That's because I was following our idiot prince on another of his little 'adventures'."  
  
Yami put his hands on his hips, and Mokuba giggled and wiggled to be put down again. Seth did so, and the boy ran over to Yami. "Yami!" He exclaimed happily. He frowned again, then. "Did you do something scary again?"  
  
Yami chuckled at the boy's question and knelt down in front of him. "Of course not." He said, laughing again when Mokuba put his little hands on his hips.   
  
"You're a liar." The little boy said, finally sending the other into fits of giggles. "You did do somethign scary!"  
  
Yami, laughing almost too hard to respond, stodd again. "It wasn't scary for ME." He said, grinning. "For your brother maybe, but not me."  
  
Mokuba's eyes shined. "You're not afraid of anything, are you?" He asked, voice filled with admiration.  
  
Yami puffed out his chest. "No, nothing." He answered. "I'm completely fearless."  
  
Bekhura snickered and elbowed the prince lightly in the ribs. "Fearless? That why you nearly broke down into tears on the riverbank?"  
  
Yami elbowed him back. "I wasn't afraid, I was shocked."  
  
"Same difference." Bekhura responded, elbowing him again.  
  
Soon the two were in an elbowing fight, and Mokuba had run off to play with Ryuuji's hair. Jono was describign the day's events to Honda, which were being wuite embelished considering not much had happened, and Anzu was talking to Seth. The to-be priest seemed to be telling her what Yami had said about Akunadin, by how the girl was frowning.  
  
The familiar noise of Yami's first doors opening caught the prince's attention, and a moment later Shaadii, Mahaado, Aishizu, and Karimu all entered the room.   
  
"I heard you snuck out of the palace again." Aishizu commented, the fourteen year old looking more amused than anything else.  
  
"And got caught." Karimu added, earning a smack from Mahaado. Shaadii wisely kept his comments to himself.  
  
Yami laughed nervously. "You could say that." He reponded, nodding.  
  
The to-be preists sighed slightly, shaking their heads.  
  
"Prince, that's dangerous." Aishizu said, and Yami could tell she was gearing up for a lecture. "So many bad things could have happened to you that I can't even list them all. You could have been-"  
  
"Abducted, killed, abducted and killed, and so on." Yami finished, smirking and rolling his eyes. Aishizu frowned at him, though the expression held no real emotion. The prince, having effectively finished that conversation, looked around a bit. "... Why is it that every is gathered in my room?"  
  
"You have the cats." Bekhura answered, and Yami was amused to see him relaxing against Spot's side, Mafdet in his lap.  
  
"Good excuse, but not good enough." Yami responded. "Besides, I wasn't really talking to you anyway. You pretty much live here anyway."  
  
"I suppose that's true." Bekhura agreed.  
  
Yami cupped his hands around his mouth. "Everyone!" He called, getting their attention. "You all need to clear out of my room. This is not a room for socializing."  
  
Every chuckled at that, but began to vacate the room as per the prince's wishes. It was getting late; the boys having been out awhile and Yami was about done interacting with many people for the day.  
  
Eventually it was just Bekhura and the cats left in Yami's room with the prince, and Yami flopped back on his bed. "Well." He said, slihgt sarcasm in his voice. "That was fun."  
  
"What, the whole day in general, out little outing, or what we found out about that annoying man?" Bekhura asked, fiddling with Spot's tail. The leopardess's tail twitched in Bekhura's grasp while she slept, but she didn't wake up and didn't seem bothered.  
  
"All of it." Yami answered, closing his eyes.   
  
"Oi, don't fall asleep yet, little prince." Bekhura said, letting go of the cat's tail and shoving Mafdet off his lap so he could stand up. The rust colored cat glared at him before flopping down against Spot's side.  
  
"Why not?" Yami asked, opening his eyes again.   
  
The thief smirked evilly. "Remember?"  
  
"Remember WHAT?" Yami asked, sounding a bit annoyed and closing his eyes again.  
  
"Our plan."  
  
"What plan?"  
  
The thief snickered. "The one that involved your math teacher and the honey."  
  
Yami's eyes snapped back open and he sat up, grinning evilly. "Oh. THAT plan."

* * *

**A/N:** Tada. I hope that The Es Factor won't return for this chapter. XD Evil, demon error.  
  
And since I'm so nice:  
  
**Preview for Next Time:** Yami's seven, and a certain blond and violet eyed teenage girl has made her way into the palace. Yami's magic has gotten even more powerful and his set of to-be priests are becoming more and more influential in the palace, as Aishizu and Yami have been having the feeling that there's going to be a radical change in the next year...  
  
So review! And I'll get to work on the next chapter faster! 


	6. Long live the king

**A/N:** Well, had a few problems with this chapter. Rewrite a few scenes over and over again, changed timelines, and decided I would never do a preview for next time ever again. XD Speaking of that preview, screw most of it, alright? I changed my mind. XD  
  
**Silver Nightingale:** I posted the extra scenes in my LJ awhile ago, but I can't remember if you saw them.  
  
XD I figured it'd be amusing for Jono and Bekhura to harass Seth, since Yami and Seth tend to team up together. XD As for Yami's hair, I never liked the idea of it being stuck up with something artificial, so it's always been weird. XD But I wanted it to be able to go up and down, so tada. XD Blame it on his mother. XD  
  
Unfortunatly, I never planned to write a scene about the math teacher in this chapter, but I might write a tiny scene and put it in my LJ sometime. XD  
  
Pokes What's floating in your head? XD I wanna knooooow. Oh, and yes, there will be a confrontation between Bekhura and Akunamukannon. Not a huge one, but still. Coughs and points at the chapter  
  
Thanks a bunch for the sympathy about my cat. And thanks for the review!  
  
**ShadowSpirits:** XD Yay for reading my LJ scene AND for working!  
  
XD Bekhura and Jono are evil.   
  
XD Spot's a good sport about being whacked with pillows. She's used to it. XD Glad you liked Yami's spell scene, too. XD  
  
Glad you' liked Mokuba. Wanted to have someone cute and happy, since all the other chibis insist on being serious. XD Thanks for the review. XD  
  
**Starlit Hope:** Thanks for the review, and glad you like.  
  
**Meeko-san:** Cookie! [Munches] Sankyuu for the cookie and the review!  
  
**Milennium:** Yay for reviewing! XD It's alright that you haven't reviewed all the chapters; I like any review I get at any time. XD  
  
Yeah, the last chapter was full of errors... Didn't run spellcheck because the one I have is a pain in the arse. [Sigh] Thanks for pointing them out so I can fix. And I write 'teh' instead of 'the' all the time. XD Did it in the first sentence of this paragraph and had to fix. XD  
  
Yep, Nebenkharu's gonna start showing up more, and the plot will begin to make it's way into the story. XD By chapter 8 it should be in pretty well. I hope.  
  
Yes, the group will wake up from the memories in the last chapter or two, then they'll head home, along with having something else happen which I won't tell what is. XD  
  
Ooh, neat about the name Bekhura. XD I never thougth about meanings for it... Just had wanted an alternate spelling of 'Bakura' that was more Egyptian-y. Glad you liked the chapter.  
  
Aw, I'm sorry about your mouse... [Hugs] And thanks for the sympathy about my cat. I think he's haunting the house, since my mom and I keep seeing him laying in his favorite places from the corners of our eyes. Thanks again, and thanks for the review.  
  
**YamiAra:** Thanks for the sympathy about Pause.  
  
XD Glad you liked the chapter, and thanks for the review.  
  
**Shadowsage Hopesong (chapter 3):** Mafdet's like glue. XD She sticks and you can't get her off your hands. Or something like that. XD  
  
Thanks for the review, and I hope your comp is working better. XD  
  
**Shadowsage Hopesong (chapter 5):** Glad you liked the chapter.  
  
Yeah, they were friends. Eventually I'll get to why they weren't later on.  
  
XD I don't see how you people can stand to read Eien again. XD But I'm glad you liked it enough to. Thanks for the review!  
  
**Ryuujin Dragon King:** Scary little children, aren't they? XD Glad you liked the chapter.   
  
**AuroraIce:** Sankyuu! I hope it'll reach 100 reviews... Maybe even as many as Eien. Though this fic is a little less than half over, already. But I have 60 reviews, so that's a lot for a story with 5 chapters. XD And so, I am happy.  
  
**Sugahigh:** Glad to have ye back and reviewing! Being grounded sucks. XD Glad you liked, and thanks for the review!  
  
**Ain-Siti-Naunet(chapter1-prologue):** Glad you liked Eien! And the chapter. Thanks for reviewing! (This chapter and the others. XD)  
  
**Ain-Siti-Naunet(chapter2):** Glad you liked Omorose. I may give her a oneshot sidestory of her own, since so many people seemed to like her. And glad you liked the things like Seth and Jouno's arguments. Thanks for the review!  
  
**Ain-Siti-Naunet(chapter3):** Glad you like Mafdet and Spot! For there shall be much of them. XD  
  
**Ain-Siti-Naunet(chapter4):** Again, glad you liked the chapter. I was worried that chapter 4 would go over horribly, and thankfully not everyone hated it. XD And glad youy liekd the comedy bit, for I wanted to put more comedy like Eien's in Itsumo and it hasn't been working.   
  
**Ain-Siti-Naunet(chapter5):** Yami's a vengeful brat, and Bekhura... Well... What doesn't he have fun doing? XD I hadn't realized so many people would like that little scene so much, so am happy. Thanks for the reviews!  
  
**Other Notes:** Alrighty, a few things to mention... Rishido's age was a pain in the arse to make. He had to be older than Aishizu, but since I'd made Aishizu seven years older than Yami and Malik was supposed to be about Jono's age, Rishido was ending up about ten years older than Malik, which isn't right. He should be more like seven, I think... I can never remember. So I made Rishido three years older than Aishizu, which makes him about nine years older than Malik. Though, since I'd mentioned before that the ages were a bit whacky because of the reincarnating thing, I think it works. XD Well enough, at least.  
  
And this chapter was a pain in the ass to write. XD But I think I got in the important things. Like I mentioned before, this really doesn't follow the preview I gave last time much... For Mai didn't appear, and I jumped a year. But close enough, right? RIGHT?  
  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Yugioh, though I have a lot of fun stuff for it. X3  
  
**Warnings:** Erm... Cursing and offscreen violence? Can't say too much or I'll kill the plot. XD  
  
**Summary of Last Time:** ...What happened? I have no idea, seriously... Oh yeah! They all snuck out and found Nebenkharu practicing Shadow Magic, and then got caught returning to the palace. XD  
  
Preview for this time: Oh no you don't! Read!

* * *

Itsumo; chapter 6  
by: Amiasha  
  
Jono tore forward as fast as he could, before jumping to plant his feet squarely on the large pillow and go sliding across the floor, giggling madly.  
  
He slid to a halt shortly, jumping off the pillow and picking it up, running over to pass it to Ryuuji who was standing with Anzu, Honda, and Seth. "This is fun!"  
  
"... What is fun?" Mahaado asked, walking up to the small group with his arms crossed. The teenager stopped in front of them, tilting his head slightly and looking at them in confusion.  
  
"This." Ryuuji answered before tossing the pillow to the floor and taking a running leap, just as Jono had, to plant his feet on the pillow and go sliding down the hall.  
  
Mahaado's eyes momentarily lit up, before he went stoic again. "You know, that's not safe."  
  
They all looked at him with cute eyes, and Mahaado began sweatdropping. They were very cute, and that DID look fun...  
  
"Alright, let me try." Mahaado said, after glancing up and down the hallway to make sure no adults were coming. He set up the pillow and took his turn to jump and land on it, making it halfway down the hallway before coming to a stop.  
  
The kids cheered, and Mahaado looked pleased with himself. Until he heard a feminine giggle.  
  
He whirled around to see Aishizu and her older brother Rishido, behind him. Aishizu was giggling, and Rishido looked amused.   
  
"I didn't think you'd take part in this sort of thing, Mahaado." The girl teased, smiling.  
  
Mahaado sweatdropped, looking a bit embarrassed. "...Eh... Well..."  
  
Aishizu smiled and giggled again. "Never mind, Mahaado. Just get out of the way so Rishido and I can try."  
  
Mahaado gaped at them but nodded, wordlessly handing the pillow to the to-be priestess who promptly took a turn before letting Rishido try as well.   
  
Rishido was a priest at one of the minor temples just outside of the palace, and he usually stayed there so Mahaado rarely saw him except on visits to get herbs from the temple supply. The man was five years older than Aishizu, making him twenty and far older than most of the group.  
  
Aishizu also had a little brother, Malik, who spent much of his time with Rishido. He was something of a priest's assistant, and he was around Jono's age. He usually stayed at the temple, and so the group didn't meet up with him much either.  
  
As if reading his mind, Anzu spoke up. "Aishizu, where's Malik?"  
  
Aishizu looked over at her and smiled. "He'll be here soon. He was begging some food off the palace cooks."  
  
The group giggled at the semi-inside joke. The palace cooks were all very nice, and they would give food out to anyone who asked, such as Bekhura, no matter who they were. There was never any begging involved, but it had devolped into a joke over time.  
  
Aishizu looked around. "Now it's my turn to ask a question; where are our prince and the residant pick-pocket?"  
  
Jono shrugged. "Last I knew, they were in Yami's room. We were going to fetch them to play with the pillow when Mahaado joined us. Yami's not been too happy lately, and we wanted to try to cheer him up."  
  
"I'll go get them." Seth volunteered, uncrossing his arms and beginning to head off down the corrider. "I'll be right back."  
  
The group nodded, before returning to their game.

* * *

The eight year old prince sighed, squinting into his scrying pool and willing it to give him images. The inky water stayed blank, however, much to the boy's annoyance.  
  
"Come on!" He told it, frowning darkly. "Work, damn you!"  
  
"... I was under the impression that cursing wasn't conductive to the state you're supposed to be in to correctly use that thing." Bekhura commented, snacking on a piece of fruit as he stepped over to the prince, looking over his shoulder at the pool. "Then again, I'm not sure that thing works at all."  
  
Yami sighed. "It does, but I can't get anything at the moment." He said, giving up. He sighed and stalked over to his bed, flopping back on it dejectedly.  
  
It had been two years since Bekhura had come to live in the palace, and almost everyone but Akunamukannon knew about him. Yami's magic had increased in a huge amount suddenly, thoroughly baffling most of the court magicians, and Yami's priests were gaining more and more power around the palace. They were almost full priests; though since Akunamukannon had a circle of priests already they'd not been officially named priests yet.  
  
Bekhura followed after Yami, doing something of a flying leap onto the bed. He peered down at the prince. "Why are you so intent on divining?" He asked curiously.  
  
Yami sat up, curling on leg under himself and turning to face Bekhura. "Aishizu and I have been feeling something strange lately, but neither of us can find out what it means. Aishizu asked her mother and while her mother couldn't feel it, she said that she doesn't doubt we do, and to keep trying to figure it out ourselves."  
  
Bekhura chuckled evilly. "Maybe Nebenkharu will be 'let go'."  
  
"I wish." The prince agreed, getting a devious smirk. "But the feeling would be easily identifiable as joy, then."  
  
Bekhura chuckled again. "I suppose you're right."  
  
Yami smiled, but then sighed slightly and looked down. Bekhura, catching this, became a bit concerned. "Little prince? What's wrong?"  
  
The prince sighed softly, hesitating. Looking at his friend's expression, he sighed again. "It's sort of silly." He finally said. "I'm not even sure if it's real, or I'm just overreacting."  
  
Bekhura nodded, intending to wait for him to continue. Yami didn't appeart to be going to, however, so he spoke up. "Why don't you tell me, and I'll help you figure it out. You rarely overreact, prince; I'd be more likely to think of you not taking something seriously enough rather than too seriously."  
  
Yami looked up again, and smiled slightly at the reassuring words. He glanced back down, before starting to speak again. "Nebenkharu's been following me around, as you know... And whenever he's around me I become lightheaded and dizzy. It was managable for awhile, but now that he's been around more and more, and time has gone on, it's gotten to a point that I'm so dizzy I feel like I'm going to pass out."  
  
Bekhura nodded again, agreeing, before waiting for the other boy to continue.  
  
Yami sighed, shrugging slightly, swinging his legs back over the side of the bed and beginnign to kick them back and forth slightly. "This morning, it got worse and everything went black for a moment. I didn't loose consciousness, I just... Couldn't see anything and I didn't know what was going on for a moment."  
  
The white haired thief's expression grew more concerned. "That's not good. Are you alright now?"  
  
The prince looked over at him and smiled slightly. "Yes, I feel fine now, just tired as always. All the symptoms fade away when I'm not in Nebenkharu's presence."  
  
"That's good." Bekhura said, sighing. "...Do you think he's doing this on purpose? And have you told Simon?"  
  
"Simon knows; he was there when it happened." Yami said, nodding slightly. "He said he doesn't know whether Nebenkharu was meaning to do anything, but he's worried and is going to tell my father to keep him away from me."  
  
Bekhura snorted. "It's about damn time. It's not as if you feeling ill around that bastard is something new. But I doubt your father's going to do a damned thing about it."  
  
Yami nodded again, still kicking his feet, a bit touched by how angry Bekhura was getting in his worry over him. He was silent, staring at the ground, apparently lost in thought, until he heard the sound of his first set of doors opening. Bekhura hid under the bed quickly and Yami stood up, as the second set of doors opened and Seth entered.   
  
"It's me, Bekhura, you can come out." The boy said, amused when a white haired head popped out from under the bed. He and Yami both snickered slightly as Bekhura sneezed once before climbing out, and standing up.   
  
"What do YOU want, wannabe priest?" Bekhura asked, frowning.  
  
Seth just looked at him. "You've got a spider in your hair."  
  
Bekhura shrieked and began swating at his hair, while Seth burst into cackles. It took the thief only a moment to realize that Seth had lied to him, and he dove on the to-be priest and began a fight.  
  
Yami sweatdropped as, yet again, the two pulled each other's hair and slapped at each other. Their fights were almost embarassing to witness, and Yami couldn't imagine how embarassing it would have to be to actually fight that way. He opened his mouth to say something, and stopped. There was really nothing to say.  
  
"Why, exactly, am I not surprised?" A voice came from behind Yami, startling the boy until he realized it was Simon.  
  
Yami smiled. "They're really pathetic..." He commented, before turning back to look at the vizier. "How did you get in here with me knowing?" He asked, wondering how he hadn't heard him enter with the two sets of doors.  
  
"The doors got stuck on some pillows and were partially open." Simon answered. He and Yami watched the squabble a few minutes before Simon spoke to Yami again. "You look like you're feeling better."  
  
Yami nodded. "I am. As soon as I'm away from Nebenkharu, I feel fine."  
  
Simon smiled and ruffled the boy's long hair. "I'm glad, you had me worried again." He paused for a moment. "...But it's not good that you're feeling so badly around him. While I have no doubt he actively dislikes you... I don't even think he's meaning to do this. He seemed a bit confused, until I told him to go away."  
  
The prince sighed. "If he's not even meaning to do it, that's worse because then we can't find a way to make him stop."  
  
Simon gently pulled the boy into a hug. "Don't worry so much. We'll figure something out." He let go, smiling again. "Now, I'm going to go pry your friends away from each other." And with that, Simon stalked over to the scabbling boys, picked them both up by the backs of their robes and held them away from each other. They both sweatdropped.  
  
Simon sighed. "Must you both get into one of these fights every day?" He asked them, earning slightly sheepish looks from both. He set them back down, and they shot last glares at each other before deciding to ignore each other's presence.  
  
Seth stepped up to Yami. "The others sent me to find you." He said. "They've invented some game they want you to take part in and beat them at."  
  
The prince's eyes lit up. "A new game?" He questioned excitedly, making Simon and Bekhura gain amused expressions at his enthusiasm. "Really?"  
  
Seth chuckled. "Yes." He replied.  
  
"Then let's go." The boy said, smiling broadly. He bounced for the doors, then stopped and looked back with a smirk. "Though, Seth, you should get that piece of fruit out of your hair first."  
  
Seth blanched and reached up towards his hair, and as he moved, Bekhura couldn't contain himself. The white haired thief practically fell to the floor laughing as Seth found the bit of fruit in his hair. He stopped laughing, however, when the to-be priest threw it right back at him. "Hey!"  
  
Simon just sighed and followed Yami, leaving the other two to throw things at each other.

* * *

Yami smirked as he made his way towards his archery class, followed by Mahaado, Shaadii, and Seth. He had, predictably, won the game many times over even when Aishizu's litle brother Malik had shown up. Apparently, Malik had played that game before, since he gave Yami and Seth, the usual two game champions, a challenge.  
  
The prince walked through the arch and entered the archery courtyard, the to-be priests close behind him. They all ran into him as he stopped, stunned.  
  
"What the hell did you stop for?" Seth asked, the only one daring enough to speak that way to a future king as he looked around the other boy, trying to find what had shocked Yami enough for him to stop. "Well, shit."  
  
Shaadii and Kalim looked as well, and their eyes widened. Nebenkharu just looked at everyone, seemingly unnoticing their less than pleased reactions to him.  
  
"No way in hell." The prince declared, turning on his heel and making to storm back into the palace, when he ran straight into someone and fell in an undignifed manner onto his rear. About to curse at the person, he intelligently looked up so see who it was first, and the rude words died in his mouth as he saw it was his father.  
  
"Going somewhere, Atem?"  
  
The boy glared. He knew then that his father had something to do with this, and many seething comments were comign to mind. It took most of the willpower Yami had to not begin with them, and to try to be respectful. "Yes, I WAS going somewhere. I will not stay around that... That..." He trailed off as he attempted to find a suitible name to call Nebenkharu but failed. "It's not happening. Now kindly get out of my way." Well, so much for attempting to be respectful.  
  
Akunamukannon turned a bit red, but before a fight could escalate Shaadii stepped in. "Pharaoh," He addressed politley, "May I ask why Nebenkharu is here?"  
  
The Pharaoh turned his attention toward Shaadii. "He's teaching the class."  
  
Yami sighed. There was obviously something up. Nebenkharu was a horrible shot. Aishizu, who while excelled in her magic and potions, barely knew how to hold her arrow, yet she could shoot better than he could.  
  
Kalim and Nebenkharu made their way over, and Yami stood back up. He glared up at Akunamukannon again, subtly shifting away from Nebenkharu as his vision hazed slightly around the edges. "I am not taking part in a class where he is the teacher. Not only can he not hit the wall even if he's standing just in front of it, but I certainly can't concentrate with him around. I'm going back to my room, and when you actually decide to stop... Whatever this is, I'll return." The prince spat, his temper rising and showing itself in his voice. With a swish of his cape, he turned to walk past his father and back into the palace but was, not unexpectedly, stopped.  
  
"You'll do nothing of the sort." Akunamukannon said, his tone matching Yami's as he pulled the boy back to stand in front of him. "I'm not in the mood for this, Atem."  
  
"Neither am I." Yami replied, eyes narrowing and beginning to change color.  
  
Akunamukannon noticed this, but appeared unfazed. "What exactly are you going to do about it? You're not leaving until the lesson is finished."  
  
"I'm not staying with this idiot." Yami responded, wrenching free of the grasp his father had on his cloak and pointing at Nebenkharu. "I won't take the chance of hiting anyone with an arrow if I can't see. Well, actually," The prince corrected, tilting his head slightly and smirking, "If it's just Nebenkharu, you, and I, I'll take the chance because there won't be anyone I care about hitting."  
  
"You are the most disrespectful little brat..." Akunamukannon snarled, taking a step forward. He was about to comment farther, when Seth spoke.  
  
"Pharaoh, why is it that Nebenkharu is teaching?" The boy ventured. "If there's no particular reason, wouldn't it be easier to avoid any further conflict by simply having our usual teacher return?"  
  
"You're not a part of this, Seth." Akunamukannon said harshly, turning his attention towards the other boy and disregarding the questions entirely. "If you want to be a priest, you really should learn when to shut up."  
  
"Excuse me." Yami cut in sharply, looking more than a bit unamused. "He's MY priest. He can do whatever he damn well pleases. Lord over your priests all you like, but don't go near mine."  
  
Akunamukannon's eyes narrowed and he glared down at the boy. "Who exactly do you think you are? You're just a prince, Atem. They are not priests, and you are not Pharaoh. Learn your place, Atem."  
  
"I know my place." Yami responded, his voice going soft and warning his priests that he was getting very angry. "However, you apparently don't. Now get out of my way."  
  
"How. Dare. You." Akunamukannon spat, shaking with rage as he stared down at his calm son. The boy had his arms crossed loosely over his chest and his head was tilted slightly; the only thing showing his anger was the deep red of his eyes.  
  
Yami opened his mouth to respond, when suddenly he stopped and looked horrified. His eyes quickly changed back to violet and he almost gasped as he looked at a point a bit behind and to the side of Akunamukannon.  
  
The Pharaoh turned around to come face to face with a boy with long white hair, and a leopardess. A glare so dark that Yami was surprised by it was given to the Pharaoh from Bekhura, who then turned and walked around the man, coming to stand in front of Yami.   
  
"Are you alright?" Bekhura asked Yami, completely ignoring everyone else. "I felt your emotions go haywire."  
  
Yami nodded weakly, still in a bit of shock that Bekhura had shown up in front of everybody and not even having time to wonder about what the other boy had said. "I-I'm alright... But..."  
  
"Who the hell is this!?" Akunamukannon asked angrily, almost shaking the ground with his booming voice. Bekhura turned around and looked up at him, his dark eyes narrowing to almost slits. He offered no comment or explanation however, and with an obvious amount of effort he tore his glare from Akunamukannon and looked back at Yami.  
  
Kalim, Shaadii, Seth, and Nebenkharu, meanwhile, were all standing with identical looks of shock on their faces. Spot glanced to the side, pounced on a bird, ate it in one gulp, then strutted over to flop down at Seth's feet and burp.  
  
"... WHO THE HELL IS THIS!?" Akunamukannon repeated, and that time Yami was pretty sure he DID feel the ground shake.  
  
At that, Bekhura turned back again and seemed about to make some sort of comment, his eyes narrowed again and white hair falling into his face, more angry than Yami had ever seen him before and leavign the prince wondering whether there was somethign Akunamukannon had done to the thief before that he didn't know about.  
  
Luckily, before Bekhura spoke, Simon chose to arrive at that moment with Mahaado, Aishizu, and Akunadin. They all entered the yard and just stared at the scene before them.  
  
"... What's going on?" Simon finally asked, making his way over and quickly assesing the situation.  
  
"That's what I want to know." Akunamukannon snarled. "Who is this stupid boy!?"  
  
Simon sweatdropped as he looked at Bekhura, who turned the glare he was giving the Pharaoh towards the vizier. "He..." Simon faltered, trying to think of a good excuse and at the same time wondering along the same lines as Yami had been just before.   
  
Aishizu had an answer for Akunamukannon's question, though. "He's an aspiring alchemist." The seeress explained calmly, stepping over next to Yami and Bekhura. "An aspiring alchemist with no manners." She added.  
  
Bekhura, though angry, had to resist the urge to stick his tounge out at her.  
  
Akunadin raised an eyebrow slightly at the priestess's words, since the story she'd told conflicted with the one Simon had told him two years before. However, he wisely didn't comment on that, knowing that if Simon was going along with it he should as well.  
  
Meanwhile, Yami was simply frozen. It was one thing for him to mess with his father; it was another thing entirely for his priests and Bekhura to get into it. Then again, wherever he went the priests followed, and Bekhura usually did as well. With or without the cats.  
  
"And why didn't I know about him?" Akunamukannon asked, reigning in his tone slightly at he seemed to forget about Yami, turning towards the to-be priestess and crossing his arms. While Aishizu was still a teenager, she was also the second most powerful woman in the palace after her mother, and arguably one of the most in the entire palace counting everyone, including the priests. When she said something, it was wisest to listen to her no matter who you were. The only one who ever broke that rule was Yami who knew he could get away with it, considering Aishizu saw him as a little brother.  
  
"He arrived yesterday and just finished the tests to show he was qualified to stay. We were going to let you know today, actually." Aishizu said, still as calm as if she was talking to no one of importance. Her expression held no clue that she was lying.  
  
"Fine, then." Akunamukannon said, before whirling back towards Yami who'd sighed in relief at his words. The prince stiffend again slightly as his father turned his attention back towards him. "As for you-"  
  
"I'll handle this, Akunamukannon." Simon broke in, his tone one Yami hadn't heard before as he stalked over to Yami's side and grabbed the boy's arm gently but firmly. "And seeing as this class is mostly unsalvageable now, you have more important things to deal with."  
  
Akunamukannon considered for a moment before turning and stalking back into the palace.  
  
Everyone let out a sigh of relief collectively, except for Akunadin who just looked a bit baffled and Nebenkharu who had stormed off after Akunamukannon. Simon immediatly rounded on Yami. "What were you thinking!?"  
  
Yami looked up at him evenly. "What do you mean?"  
  
Simon just stared at the boy. "Yami! You know exactly what I'm talking about!"  
  
"Oh, you mean telling my father I won't tolerate him pulling these sorts of stunts?" The prince asked, taking his arm away from Simon's grasp. "Or speaking to my priests however he wishes? Or testing me? I'm not here for his amusement, and he's going to have to figure that out." Yami's voice had lowered again, leaving Simon wondering a bit if the boy had implied something in his words.  
  
"Yami, I know he's being unfair to you-" Simon began, but was cut off by Yami again. The prince was looking very displeased.  
  
"Unfair doesn't begin to cover it. The only times he speaks to me now are to taunt or critisize me, or to tell me I'm being out of line. I'm sorry I'm not the perfect, quiet, docile little heir that worships the very ground he walks on liek he wanted, but I don't like liars. Maybe you can explain this to him, and tell him if he doesn't like it then he should go try to get some woman, if he can find one who'll go near him, to have another heir with and I'll gladly let the kid be crown prince. I don't care. I'm just sick of dealing with him." Yami finished, looking a cross between upset and shocked at himself. He only looked that way for a moment, before he took off back into the palace, violet cape fluttering after him.  
  
Everyone stared at the archway the prince had disappeared through, stunned. That was, until Bekhura spoke up.  
  
"...What did I miss?"

* * *

Yami stormed around his room, feeling more than a bit embarassed at his outburst and still angry at his father. Mafdet and Spot, who had followed him back a few minutes before, both laid on his bed watching him in concern.  
  
Frustrated, the prince slammed his fist into the wall, only to realize that was an even more stupid idea as he sat down on the floor and held his fist to his chest, attempting not to cry.  
  
"Why did you think hitting the wall would hurt less than kicking it?" A familiar voice said, and Yami looked up to see it's owner, Kalim, standing next to him for a moment before the to-be priest kneeled down beside him. "Let me see."  
  
Yami obediently held his hand out for Kalim to take, and the other boy gently began to asses how much the prince had hurt himself as he spoke. "Mahaado, Shaadii, and Seth told me what happened in the courtyard." He commented. He looked up from Yami's hand to smile at the prince. "I have to say, you are the most daring person I have ever met."  
  
Yami smiled back, giving a small laugh. "That or stupid."  
  
"Same thing, apparently." Kalim responded casually, smirking. "Since you believe hitting a stone wall will fix a problem."  
  
Yami made a face. "You're mean, Kalim. I've decided I don't like you, either."  
  
Kalim chuckled at that. "Who DO you like, then? Because you say that to all of us at least once every two days."  
  
"Oh, my liking and disliking lists reset every day or so." Yami explained casually, beginning to feel a little better.  
  
Kalim chuckled again, before motioning for Yami to stand up. As the smaller boy did so, Kalim explained. "I'm going to take you to Aishizu so she can bandage your hand. I'd do it, but I'm not as good as she is."  
  
Yami frowned. "What did I do to it?" He asked, looking at his hand.  
  
"Nothing too bad, but it will bruise." Kalim responded, leading Yami out of his room and down the hall to Aishizu's room. "The bandaging will keep it from swelling too badly for you to use."  
  
Yami nodded a few times, before changing the subject. "Where has Bekhura gotten to?" He asked.  
  
"Last I saw him, Seth was smacking him, for some reason or another." The green eyed boy responded, reaching Aishizu's door and knocking twice.  
  
The prince laughed. "Could be anything from Bekhura being rude, to pulling some sort of prank, to stepping on the flowers."  
  
"They do get on each other's nerves." Kalim agreed, smirking slightly. He seeemed about to continue when Aishizu opened her door, and seeing who was visiting her led them into her room.  
  
"What can I help you with?" The girl asked calmly, looking back and forth between them.  
  
Kalim opened his mouth to explain, when a sudden boom sounded and all three of them whirled around, wondering where the sound had come from, and then Yami had to hold onto Kalim's arm to keep from falling as the three felt a huge wave of magic ripple over them. Exchanging glances of confusion and worry, they turned their attention to finding out where the blast had happened and started quickly down the hall. On the way they met up with Seth and Bekhura, whos' eyes were wide and seemed just as confused as Kalim, Yami, and Aishizu were.  
  
The five silently ran down the hall, stepping out of the hidden hallway that had their rooms and going down the hallway that would lead toward the courtyard. Just as they were turning down the hall that went towards the throne room, they ran into Simon.  
  
The vizer looked a bit haggard and when he saw Yami and the others, he seemed even more so. They all rushed up to him, concerned, but before Yami could say anything Simon held a hand up.  
  
"Yami, you need to listen to me." He said, causing the boy to blink in confusion at Simon's tone. It wasn't harsh, but sounded more urgent and left no room for argument. "I assume that by your presence that you felt what happened."  
  
Yami nodded silently, wondering what was going on but getting the horrible feeling it wasn't good. The inky blackness of his scrying pool for some reason surfaced in his mind, but disappeared just as quickly.  
  
Simon looked around at the five, all watching intently for more information from him. "...There was some sort of magical explosion. I have no idea how it happened or why, but..."  
  
The feeling in Yami's stomach grew. "Where was this...?"  
  
"The throne room." Simon told him, attempting to be calm as he awaited the boy's next question.  
  
"...Where were the priests and my father? Where was Mahaado!?" The prince asked, his voice rising slightly in ptich as he started to panic.  
  
"There were all in the throne room." Simon answered gently. "Mahaado is alright; he was mostly out of the way. Nebenkharu, similarily, is alright as well though I'm sure you didn't really want to hear that."  
  
The man paused a moment before continuing. "But... They were the only ones..."  
  
Yami went pale and backed up a few paces, not caring that he ran into Kalim. "You can't be serious, Simon." He murmered, eyes wide and an odd shade of indigo. "Please tell me you're not."  
  
"Yami..." Simon said softly, stepping forward towards the boy slowly and reaching out to him. "Yami, I'm sorry..."  
  
Yami shook his head rapidly in disbelief, chest heaving as he gasped for air around the lump forming in his throat.   
  
"Yami..." Simon repeated, putting his hands on the boy's shoulders and looking into his eyes. "Yami... I know this is happening very fast... But we need to do the coronation ceremony as soon as possible before Egypt goes into hysteria."  
  
Yami couldn't seem to comprehend what was happening, his confused and frightened gaze locked with Simon's. The vizier sighed softly.  
  
"Yami... You're now the Pharaoh of Egypt."

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, I decided on a cliffhanger ending. Since I so rarely do that, I expect you all to wait patiently for the another month or two it takes me to write the next chapter. XD Dodges fruit and such  
  
Anyway, review! I shall get to work on the next chapter.  
  
Preview for next chapter: Just seeing if anyone was paying attention to my earlier author notes. XD Review! 


	7. Bandits and Shadow Games

A/N: Ph34r the random and disjointedness of this chapter. However, despite that, I've reintroduced the plot. /People in the background cheer/

Itsumo appears to wish to be shorter than originally intended. So, instead of 14 chapters, it will most likely be 10 long chapters. Maybe 13 or 14, but probably between 10 and 12. Then on to Fumetsu!

I'm sorry, no responses to reviews this chapter... Thanks to everyone who reviewed, though! Just pressed for time and am tired. /Sigh/ Also, didn't have a program to spellcheck, so please excuse spelling errors.

Disclaimer: Yugioh's... Sob... Not mine...

Warnings: Small amounts of violence, most likely some language.

Summary of last chapter: People went splody. Yes, that's the extent of the summary. Deal with it. XD

Preview for this chapter: Yami, Bekhura, and Jouno to the rescue!

* * *

Itsumo; part 7  
by: Amiasha

Gold sparkled, like millions of tiny stars all around him in the vast inky darkness. Usually he would be stunned with the beauty of the surroundings, like he was almost every time he was here, but this time he wasn't. He was focused, running forward and reaching for something he could sense was just out of his grasp. Suddenly something flared in front of him and he stopped, recoiling back from the flash, the gold stars swallowed up by the light. He raised an arm to sheild his eyes when the glow suddenly contracted, forming into a perfect blue orb before everything disappeared and an eleven year-old Pharaoh Atem started awake, tumbling ungracefully out of his throne to land with a loud smack on the decorative floor.

"Ow..." The Pharaoh murmered, pushing himself back up to his knees as Simon reached him, putting a hand on his shoulder in concern.

"Pharaoh, are you alright?" He asked, looking the boy over once for injuries.

Yami smiled at him, unharmed from the fall. "Yes, I'm fine." He replied, standing up and nearly tripping over the ends of his purple cape. His smile turned slightly sheepish, and Simon laughed.

"You're incredibly ungraceful." The vizier commented, chuckling. "Hopefully you'll get your mother's gene in that area and grow out of it, though."

"I wouldn't count on it." Yami replied, sitting back down on his throne and putting his chin in his hand.

It had been three years since the boy had been crowned Pharaoh. There had been quite a few radical changes in the palace during that time; Mahaado, Seth, Aishizu, Shaadah, and Kalim had become priests, and along with Akunadin they formed Yami's circle. All but one of Millennium Items had changed hands; The Ring to Mahaado, the Rod to Seth, the Tauk to Aishizu, the Ankh to Shaadah, the Scales to Kalim, and the Puzzle to Yami. Nebenkharu had been 'let go' from the position of advisor, as Yami had so elegantly put it, though he had been allowed to return to the palace at times to gather plantss from the gardens. Yami didn't have to deal with him at those times, however, so he was satisfied with the arrangements.

All of Yami's friends had made advances in their fields; Jouno and Honda, both twelve, were Yami's bodyguards, Ryuuji was working his way up to being one of the head scribes even though he was also only twelve, Anzu was already one of the best healers in the palace with the less proficient eight year old Shizuka as her assistant, five year old Mokuba had started the training to become a priest 'just like his brother', and Rishido and Malik were already accomplished temple priests. Bekhura, in a class all his own, was something undefinable but seemed to be a cross between swordfighter, magician, herbologist, priest, and of course, thief. But most remarkable were Mafdet and Spot. Mafdet was six, and Spot was almost nine, and yet neither cat showed any signs of their age. Mafdet still seemed one, and Spot seemed three. No one could figure out why, but the cats didn't appear to be aging.

Yami had chosen the name 'Atem' for his throne name, keeping 'Yami' as his personal one. In the three years he'd been Pharaoh there had been no major conflicts with other countries, and Yami had actually improved upon their relationships with Egypt. In fact, King Tayib of India was arriving that day for what hopefully wouldn't be a repeat of five years earlier.

"How long was I asleep?" Yami asked, running his hands through his bangs to comb them and frowning when his fingers caught.

"Not more than twenty minutes." Simon responded, coming forward with an actual comb and beginning to work on the boy's tangled locks. After a moment or so of fighting with knots, he sweatdropped. "What have you done to your hair?"

Yami sweatdropped as well and the shrugged. "I... Don't know?"

Simon's sweatdrop grew, though he was beginning to make progress. "Well whatever it was, don't do it again. I've never seen your hair so messed up."

"I have!" A voice exclaimed, startling both Simon and Yami so much that they jumped, and for the second time in ten minutes Yami fell out of his throne.

They both turned to look at the speaker, a cute eight year old girl with blonde hair and green eyes who was holding a staff and smiling brightly.

"Mana!" Simon scolded. "Don't surprise us! You're lucky neither of us cast a spell at you."

Mana looked put out for a moment, but quickly shrugged it off and smiled again cutely. "Mahaado-sama sent me to tell you that the king of India should be here in about ten minutes. His traveling party made faster time than expected."

Before she'd even finished her sentence, Yami had rushed off down the hall to his room to change, considering he was wearing a very casual outfit. He'd expected at least another four hours to get ready, but ten minutes was barely enough time to get all his jewelry on right. He raced down the secret hall, opened both sets of doors to his room, and began to dig through his clothes.

"Oi, little Pharaoh, need a bit of help?" Bekhura asked, coming in from the courtyard with the cats. Mafdet and Spot were right next to him, having taken a huge liking to the thief over the time they'd known him, but when the saw Yami they bounded over to jump into his arms and rub on his legs, repectively.

Giving both cats a stroke, Yami set Mafdet on his bed and turned toward Bekhura. "It would be appriciated, yes. Could you find my better jewelry? It's in a drawer... Somewhere." He said, attempting to find his formal black robes.

"Psh, I know where it is." Bekhura responded, opening one drawer and producing the requested gold, silver, and jeweled items.

Yami chuckled as he finally located his robes. "I forgot, you know where every shiny thing I own is."

"Damn right." Bekhura responded proudly, depositing the jewelry on Yami's bed next to Mafdet. "So, what's the occasion THIS time you need to rush in here and get ready for something in a hurry?"

Yami paused changing a moment and gave the theif a glare before resuming. "I've only told you four or five times."

"Tell me again." Bekhura said calmly, trying on some of the Pharaoh's more expensive pieces of jewelry.

Yami sighed heavily as he snapped the gold belt he usually wore around his waist, swearing when he managed to pinch his finger at the same time. Bekhura chuckled. "Smooth, little Pharaoh."

"Oh, shut up." Yami responded, shaking his hand a moment before grabbing his fancy sandals. As he laced them, he looked back over at Bekhura again. "The king of India is arriving very soon." He informed the thief yet again.

"Hm." Bekhura said, crossing his arms and watching Yami change his earrings. "And why are you in a such a rush to look so nice? You don't have a crush on him, do you?"

Yami gave a glare so dark which would have scared Bekhura had he not already know the other boy was relatively harmless. "Watch it, thief."

Bekhura smirked. "I'm shaking."

"You better be." Yami responded, adjusting his circlet and looking himself over once. "And for your information, I'm attempting to make a good impression. My last meeting with him I acted like somewhat of a brat."

Bekhura shrugged. "Eh, at least you were an honest brat. I doubt he has a bad opinion of you."

The Pharaoh smiled. "That was an uncharacteristicly nice thing to say."

"I'm in a good mood." Bekhura responded, flopping back on Yami's bed, causing Mafdet to bounce and then give Behkura her best cat-glare. "I just stole some great stuff."

Yami gave a sigh of exasperation. "Stop stealing things from the citizens!" He said, looking slightly annoyed. "You do know that is you were anyone else, you'd probably get your hands cut off; you really need to not take advantage of-"

"Aren't you late?" Bekhura interrupted smoothly, smirking as he watched Yami's expression change from annoyance to panic before the Pharaoh ran out the door. The white haired Egyptian glanced over at the cats, still smirking about the other boy. "Airhead."

* * *

Yami literally slid into the throne room, barely keeping his balance and coming to a stop in front of the stairs that led up to his throne. Climbing them in two steps, the boy had just sat down when the doors of the palace opened.

Yami stole a glance around at who all was gathered with him before the convoy from India made it into the main part of the room. Honda and Jouno were standing to each side and behind his throne, watching as they leaned slightly against the wall. Simon was at his right, and his priests were lining the gold path to the throne. Doing a doubletake as he glanced over the priests, Yami's eyes widened when he spotted Bekhura in Seth's place, with the blue eyed boy no where to be seen. Yami stared at Bekhura, who was wearing white robes to match the other priests, and who snickered at his expression.

Drawn away from wondering why the thief was in Seth's place due to the arrival of the visitors, Yami stood up and decended the steps he'd just climbed. King Tayib, leading his precession, stopped about three meters from Yami, and both he and the young Pharaoh nodded to each other.

"Welcome to Egypt, King Tayib of India." Yami said formally, as he was expected to, a small bit nervous due to this being the first ruler of country that had actually visited Egypt since he'd be crowned. It was hard enough to talk to the governors of the larger cities in Egypt itself, let alone another king.

"Greetings again, Pharaoh Atem." Tayib said, not nearly so formally and giving a gentle smile. "It's good to see you again after so long."

Yami finally smiled as well, feeling a bit more relaxed, and nodded. At that time, Simon came forward.

"Greetings, King Tayib!" He exclaimed, smiling. "How was your trip?"

"We didn't get attacked by anyone." Tayib replied, chuckling. "So pretty good. How have you been, Simon?"

Yami blinked a few times, looking back and forth between Tayib and Smon, wondering when they'd become such friends.

"Very well." Simon answered, still in a casual tone. "I'm glad you could join us here today."

"As am I; it's been awhile." Tayib replied, smiling. He looked over at Yami, who still seemed baffled. "You've grown a lot since I last saw you, Atem." He commented, still smiling gently. "And from what I've heard, you're turning out to be a fine Pharaoh."

Yami blushed slightly at the praise, looking at his sandals, and Tayib and Simon both chuckled. Getting over his embarassment, Yami glanced around again as Tayib and Simon resumed talking. His eyes once again fell on Bekhura, who grinned at him.

Simon began to lead Tayib and his traveling party to the dining hall, leaving Yami to feel a bit like he was just there for show. He knew Simon hadn't meant for it to feel that way; and that more likely than not he was trying to help, but it still made the Pharaoh feel unneeded.

It did give him a chance to talk to Bekhura, though. "What are you doing here!? And where has Seth gone?" He hissed, trying not to attract attention.

Bekhura smiled at him. "I'm playing priest while pretty-boy is out on an assignment."

Yami sputtered. "I didn't send Seth anywhere! I didn't even know he was gone! And I certainly didn't have any idea you'd be standing in for him; I talked to you less than twenty minutes ago and you said you didn't even remember that king Tayib was coming!"

"I didn't?" Bekhura asked, smiling evilly.

That set the other boy off. "You're so mean!" Yami whined, grabbing a handful of Bekhura's hair and yanking. "You know I hate to be left out of things!"

"I also knew you'd throw a fit if we told you what was REALLY going on." Bekhura replied, not fazed by the pulling on his hair. "Considering how overly protective you are of your priests, even though it's supposed to be the other way around."

"But my priests are all so STUPID!" Yami exclaimed. Though he cared very much for his priests, they did have the tendency to make choices or decisions that got them into trouble. But they were always careful it was just them and never their Pharaoh who was put in harm's way. "I have to know what they're doing so I can keep an eye on them!"

"Hence the reason Seth made me promise not to tell you until he had already left." Bekhura responded, crossing his arms. "He knew you'd throw a fit, like you're doing right now."

Yami glared. "I'm not throwing a fit!" He exclaimed, not realizing how he just proved his statement to the contrary. "You know that I could have you thrown in the dungeons for plotting behind my back; whether to harm me or not. Were you anyone else-"

"But Seth and I AREN'T anyone else." Bekhura responded, smirking as he gently pried Yami's fingers from his hair. "And even if we were, you're still making hollow threats. The dungeons have been deserted ever since you took the thone."

Yami was getting a bit fed up with Bakura's nonchalance. "You don't get it, Bekhura; I'm REALLY upset. Just exactly WHAT has Seth gone to do!?"

Bekhura regarded the boy a moment. "Seth asked that I not tell you. He said you'd do something stupid."

Eyes narrowing and turning a shade redder, Yami made an undefinable growling noise. "I'm about to SHOW you doing something stupid." He said, before storming off towards the dining hall.

Bekhura blinked a few times, realizing he set the other boy off a little too far. "Well, shit." He muttered, following after Yami and wondering what the Pharaoh was going to do.

Yami entered the dining hall and made his way to his place at the head of the table. Instead of sitting down, however, he remained standing. "King Tayib," He started, his tone authorative as regal and as possible. "I'm sorry; something has come up that needs my immediate attention. Mahaado and Simon will act in my stead; I'll return later to continue discussion with you. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience." Leaving his remaining priests and Simon a bit surprised, but Tayib seeming more concerned than annoyed, Yami took off for his room, passing Bekhura on the way.

He reached his room in record time, waving a hand once over his scrying pool. The inky water began to swirl, and leaving it to do so Yami quickly removed his jewelry. Bekhura entered the room, looking confused.

"Little Pharaoh, what exactly are you doing?"

"Going to find Seth." Yami replied, turning his gaze towards the white haired boy. "Since you're not going to tell me what he's gone to do, I'll have to go relatively unprepared, but I suppose that's the way it'll have to be."

"You are entirely crazy." Bekhura replied, crossing his arms. "I can't believe you..."

"I can't believe you, either." Yami responded, unlacing his sandals and not looking up.

A moment later Bekhura sighed. "Fine, you little brat." He sighed, but without and real malice in his tone. "Seth's gone to attempt to uncover a circle of bandits that have sprung up. He thinks they're supplying rare poisons to other bandit groups; he's been sneaking around in the city late at night, once he knows you've finally fallen asleep, and bringing back some of the poisons for me to analyze."

Yami's attention sprang back to Bekhura. "How long has this been going on without me knowing!?"

"Maybe... A month?" Bekhura guessed, shrugging. He then looked a bit more seriously at Yami, noting the boy's betrayed expression. "We didn't tell you because we knew you'd demand to be involved. We were trying to keep you from getting killed."

Yami sighed heavily, eyes returning to the floor. "I know that... But that doesn't excuse keeping something like this from me." He sighed again and shook his head slightly. "But we'll discuss that later. How long has Seth been gone?"

Bekhura sighed as well. "That's the problem. I haven't seen or heard from him since last night, when he left."

"Then something probably happened to him..." Yami murmered. Finally having gotten his sandals off, he slipped on more casual shoes and stood, turning to face Bekhura. "How should we go? Undercover, I assume?"

Bekhura smirked. "You got it; time to practice your commoner look again."

Yami nodded and dug some cloth from his closet, changing into a much more nondescript white short-sleeved tunic. He wound a small length of rope around his waist to tie the outift in place, before looking back at Bekhura and copying the thief's expression. "You should change too, PRIEST."

Bekhura suddenly remember he was wearing priest's robes, and snorted before changing into a brown tunic with long sleeves, also tying a bit of rope around his waist. He snatched his beaten up shoes and put them on, placing a matching cloth over his head and holding it in place with a thin ring of metal before throwing on a brown cloak. "You should do something about your hair, little Pharaoh."

Yami nodded, running a hand through the locks and causing them to fall around his shoulders. He shook his head a bit to settle the strands, grabbing a headpiece identical to Bekhura's in everything but color.

It was at that moment that Yami heard his first set of doors open, and a moment later the second. Jouno and Honda came in, looking confused and a bit concerned.

"Yami, what's going on!?" Jouno asked, seeing the other boy dressed in the style of clothes he always wore when plannign some sort of adventure outside the palace.

"We're going to find Seth." Yami responded, making his way back to his scrying pool, which had stopped swirling and had settled to a smooth black. He stared intently into it, willing it to show him where the blue eyed boy was as Bekhura explained to Honda and Jouno.

At the sudden exclaimation of "We're coming too!" Yami looked up again.

"No, you're not." He replied, watching as Honda and Jouno both sort of looked at him. "The smaller the group, the better."

Jouno glared. "We're here to protect you, you silly dolt! We can't do that if we're never able to go with you on your crazy, dangerous missions."

Yami glared right back. "I said no. You're staying. Both of you."

"Honda may be, but I'm not." Jouno stated, crossing his arms. "I'm only one more person, and neither of you are good fighters." Bekhura made an annoyed noise at that, but Jouno ignored him.

"Yeah, come on Yami." Honda said. "At least let Jouno come with you. It's not like it's a loss if something happens to him, anyway."

"Why you..." Jouno said, though it was without malice, turning and grabbing Honda's collar. "You jerk..."

Yami sighed, but finally nodded. "Alright, I give in. Jouno, you may come, but on the conditions that you do EXACTLY as Bekhura and I say. Honda, I'm sorry, but you'll have to stay here. I need you to watch out for Mahaado while we're out, because I made him honorary Pharaoh in my absense."

Honda nodded, and Jouno cheered.

"But get one of Bekhura's cloaks or something, Jouno." Yami said. "Your sword is a bit obvious, as is your hair."

Jouno nodded, catching the cloak Bekhura threw at him, and quickly putting it on over his normal clothes. He pulled the hood up to hide his gold hair; gold not being as unusual a color as white or tricolored, but enough so none the less.

"Alright, let's get going." Yami said, impatient to find his priest. If Seth had been missing since the night before; he'd been gone almost fourteen hours. He glared down at the scrying pool once more, hoping to get an indication of what direction the older boy was in without having to cast a spell. It didn't seem to be going to happen that way, however.

Suddenly, the water began to almost ripple; only in tiny waves instead of rings. They all went east. Yami gave a small smirk.

"We're going east." He declared, smiling as everyone nodded, not once questioning him. "Let's go over my courtyard wall; we can go around the back of the palace to the stables, get horses, and head east from there."

The group nodded again, and they all went out into Yami's courtyard, where they ran into the cats. Spot and Mafdet looked at them, a bit confused, and yowled in unison.

"Sorry, but you can't come." Yami replied to them, smiling in amusement when he saw them glare at him. "I'd take you, but you're too noticeable. So you have to stay and guard the palace." They both yowled again, but slunk off back towards Yami's room, tails swishing in time to each other's.

Bekhura climbed up the wall first, having done so many times before, and sat up at the top. Jouno laced his fingers together and let Yami step into his hands so he could lift the smaller boy high enough that he caught Bekhura's hands and the thief coudl pull him up. Jouno climbed up a moment later.

"You've got to work on your climbing skills." Bekhura told Yami, smirking.

Yami made a rude gesture before turning around on the wall and jumping down, outside the palace. There were magical wards a few meters from the wall itself, but they wouldn't bother the three, so they simply walked through them. It wasn't far to the stables, which they entered to get three horses. Seth could ride with one of them when they found him.

Jouno chose a dappled white Arabian stallion, quickly climbing up onto his back as Yami got on his spotted white mare and Bekhura... Fell off his gray mare.

Grumbling as Yami and Jouno laughed, Bekhura climbed back up, and the three left the stables. The horses set at a trot, and the group made around the palace, going east through the streets.

Yami sighed. Once they got close to him, the boy was certain he'd be able to sense Seth. He hadn't felt anything yet, though he wasn't surprised; he doubted Seth was in the city.

"Bekhura, do the bandits have a play they gather?" He asked. "Perhaps in the eastern desert?"

Bekhura nodded once. "There are a few places they stay, and I believe one of them is in the eastern desert. There's a small oasis; I'd guess they're there."

"A good a place as any." Yami responded, nodding as well. "We should start there."

It took about three hours to reach the rocky desert, and it was late evening. The sun would set in less than an hour, leaving a small amount of time to find Seth and get back to the palace. The temperature would drop drastically after sunset, so it would be a cold ride home. Yami was beginning to regret being so reckless, wishing he'd planned things a bit better. He didn't regret his decision to go after Seth, though.

The horses had to walk carefully due to the rocks and sudden changes in ground level, but finally Yami stopped his horse. The other two looked at him, while Yami stared out at the horizen line. He could sense Seth now; they'd guessed right. Looking harder, the Pharaoh was able to spot a tree and a few temporary shelters. He glanced over at Bekhura and Jouno. "We're here."

"Thank the gods!" Bekhura exclaimed with a flourish, slipping off the back of his horse and leading it to a nearby, convinient rock. The other two boys followed suit, and the trio secured their horse's reign to the rock.

"Now we have to think." Yami told the two, who groaned at the same time. Yami smacked them both. "Very funny."

"I don't like thinking." Jouno said, still having a pout on his face.

"Too bad." Yami replied pitilessly, before returning to business. "We need to find some way to get Seth out without requiring a rescue mission ourselves."

"I could steal some guy's skirt." Bekhura suggested.

Yami and Jouno looked at him.

"Well it's TRUE!" Bekhura defended. "If I stole a skirt right off some guy's ass, that'd sure cause a diversion long enough for you to save your pretty-boy priest!"

Yami and Jouno looked at each other, then back at Bekhura.

"Actually, that could work." Yami said, barely containing his laughter. "While everyone is either laughing at the one who got his skirt stolen, or chasing after the skirt, we could sneak in."

"Exactly." Bekhura said, getting a devilish look on his face. He seemed to be having far too much fun with this thought.

"You'd have to be very careful." Yami cautioned the older boy.

"Psh, when am I not cautious?" Bekhura asked casually, shrugging his shoulders. He grinned. "Besides, this is the sort of thing I DO. This wouldn't be the first evil guy I've stolen a skirt from."

Yami and Jouno sweatdropped, but decided it'd be best not to ask. "Okay." Yami said, finalizing their plan. "Jouno and I will go around to the back as you come towards the front. When we hear someone wailing about their loss, we'll go in and get Seth, then run back to the horses. When you see us leaving, do the same."

"Got it, little Pharaoh." Bekhura responded, giving a thumbs up. He then rubbed his hands together. "This'll be fun..."

Yami took another look at the camp and sighed. "Let's go."

The three snuck towards their target, and once they were within running distance, they all hid behind another rock. "Okay." Yami said. He looked around the rock, making sure everythign was where he thought it was. No one was outside the small structures; just a few horses and camels grazing on the grass next to the small pond. It would be easy for them to pull of their plan. "Everyone ready?"

Jouno and Bekhura both grinned and nodded, and Yami sighed. "Alright then... Go!"

Bekhura shot off towards the front of the camp, and Yami and Jouno towards the back. Yami was using his ability to sense Seth to attempt to locate exactly where the other boy was, when he and Jouno heard the distinct squeal of someone who'd just found out a certain thief had snatched their skirt. People began flooding towards the sounds as Yami and Jouno kept out of sight, and it only took a moment for it to be clear for the two to go.

Yami led the blond to one of the tent-like-huts in the back, opening the flap and entering. He smirked, pleased with himself when he spotted his priest sleeping, unharmed, tied loosly to a pole in the center of the room.

Yami trotted over and got to his knees, smiling. He reached out and shook Seth's shoulder. "Oi, rise and shine." He said, smirking again and sitting back when Seth opened his eyes and looked up at him.

The priest blinked a couple of times. "...PHARAOH!?" He exclaimed, shocked.

"And me." Jouno added, leaning in and grinning. "We're here to rescue you! Bekhura's causing a commotion out front, so we could sneak around here."

"Well then, 'rescue' me and let's get going!" Seth said impatiently, the usual annoyed tone that he used with Jouno present in his voice.

"Hey, shouldn't you be a bit more grateful?" Jouno said blandly, poking the brunette in the forehead. "I mean, we could decide we don't want to save your ass after all."

"But we won't." Yami said, getting a bit annoyed and feeling somewhat edgy. They could banter later, they needed to leave NOW. "Jouno, get him loose and let's go."

"Not so fast, kids." A voice from behind them said. Yami whirled around, hand raised to cast a spell, but came face to face with a scimitar. Eyes narrowing, Yami lowed his hand, knowing he couldn't manage a spell fast enough to avoid being struck by the sword. A tall, muscular man was the owner of the sword. He had dark hair and eyes that were a color between black and red, and wore a black cloak that made Yami wonder if it got hot to wear it in the desert sun.

A curse from Jouno prompted Yami to look back over his shoulder, and then to also swear. There were another three men who had just entered; all armed with scimitars and wearing the same black cloaks. One approached and reached to grab Yami's arm, but the boy yanked it away and turned slightly to snarl at him. However, two long locks of golden hair slipped from under the head covering he wore, falling down over his right eye.

"Well well, look at this." The first man said, grabbing the golden bangs and yanking hard. Yami stumbled but caught his balance, though the movement of his head caused his hair to swing around and reveal the red tips. "Looks like we made quite a catch. But then again, the whole kingdom knows that if you get one of the priests, the Pharaoh's sure to come right to you."

Yami snarled again, frustrated they'd be caught and his identity had been revealed. Now it would be a hassle to get out of this mess. He idly wondered what had happened to Bekhura for a moment before another yank on his bangs drew his out of this thoughts.

"Stop pulling my hair, damnit." Yami bit out, a hand going up to attempt to pry the man's fingers from his hair. The effort was abandoned when the bandit behind him grabbed his arms, and the first man's sword moved forward to press into lightly into his chest.

"What language!" The man holding his hair commented, chuckling. "You're not a very polite little boy, are you... And certainly not the god among men you're supposed to be, either."

"As if I haven't heard that before." Yami responded, fixing him with a dark glare. "Who the hell are you, anyway?"

The bandit seemed to consider that a minute. "I don't think I'll tell you." He finally responded, shrugging. "It won't really matter anyway, after all, you're not going to be around a whole lot longer."

Feeling a soft brush of familiar magic against his senses, Yami smirked. "You're right; I'm not going to stay around the camp a lot longer. It, and you, all smell vaguely of camel."

The fun of watching the man's face turn an interesting shade of reddish-purple was well worth the slap the boy recieved for the comment. He snickered to himself and grinned at the man, noting with amusement that the man was looking at him with caution, seeming to think he was a bit crazy.

Feeling the brush of Bekhura's magic again, the Pharaoh wondered just how long it would take the other boy to get to them. He needed to not be faced with a sword in order to safely cast a spell. As if the gods heard his thoughts, the white haired theif made his entrance, smugly strolling into the room and waving a large piece of cloth he still held in his hand.

Everyone turned to look at the newcomer, including the man in front of Yami who, like the boy had hoped, lowered his sword. It was easy from there to simply let his magic cast outwards in a ring; knocking everyone in the room but Bekhura down. Yami hopped over a few of the recovering men, he reached Bekhura, Jouno, and Seth. Jouno had finally freed Seth, who was looking more than a bit annoyed by the whole ordeal.

"Well, I say success. Let's get out of here before everyone gets up." Bekhura suggested, darting out of the small hut like lighting. Jouno, Seth, and Yami followed all-too happily, and took off towards the horses.

They quickly skidded to a stop in the sand as a volley of arrows struck the ground just in front of them. The men Bekhura had distracted were no un-distracted, and shooting arrows. Seth knocked them all back with a quick blast of energy from the Rod and they started forward again, but once again stopped. The already cooling air became suddenly colder, and the skies darker. Four sets of eyes widened as they realized why. Someone besides Yami or Bekhura, the only two of the group that had the ability, had called a Shadow Game.

They turned as they heard the familiar voice of the bandit Yami had argued with laugh from behind them. The man was standing behind a table that had appeared from nowhere. "Which of you will play this game with me?"

Yami slowly smiled and the other three members of his group stepped back, knowing Yami was the best of them at games. "I will." He said, tone changing from it usual casual one to a harsher, more confident one. Games were one of the few things he KNEW he was good at. He didn't like playing in the Shadow Realm, mainly because if you weren't careful, something you hadn't expected would be joining you, not because he ever doubted his ability to win. That, and he'd heard rumors that the Shadow Games could influence you if you used them for a long period of time, and didn't want to find out if it was true. But he certainly didn't back down from a challenge.

"Alright then, Pharaoh... Let's see if you're really so good at games as the rumors say." The badit commented, smirking broadly.

"First, I want to know your name, at least." Yami replied, setting his hands on his hips. "So I don't keep thinking of you as various rude things."

The man gave a glare, but seemed to consider it. A few moments later, he said, "Neserkasru. I don't really fear you cursing me, so it doesn't hurt to let you know." He smirked again. "Besides, it's good to know the name of the person who's going to kill you."

Yami scoffed. "If you think your threats bother me, you're wrong. I've heard them before." He stepped up to the table. "Name the game."

Neserkasru waved a hand, and two bows and ten arrows appeared on the table. "We'll have a shooting contest." He stated, smirking. "We'll shoot at those targets," He pointed, as two large pieces of cloth suspended themselves from seemingly nothing, both with a small red circle in the center and about twenty meters away. "We each get five shots, and on them, closest to the center is deemed the winner. Whoever wins the most rounds in five shots is the winner, and can demand or do anything they choose, to their opponent or otherwise." His smirk grew as he looked over at Yami, who was glaring at him. "I have a feelign I'll the be the one winnign this game. What would a palace brat know about archery, anyway?"

A slightly worried expression crossed Yami's face for an instant, which didn't g unnoticed by Neserkasru, and he glanced hesitatingly at the bows before his look changed to one of determination. "I accept your challenge." He said, taking his bow and one arrow, but not putting it to the bow string as he waited for his opponent to take his own bow and an arrow, Neserkasru still smirking the whole time.

"I'll take the first shot, your highness." He said mockingly as he set his arrow into the bow. "This will be over in no time." He said confidently, before releasing the arrow. It flew steadily across the distance to the targets, hitting close to the center.

Yami blinked. Neserkasru was a better shot than he'd thought he was.

"Your turn." The bandit said, putting his hands on his hips and looking satisfied with himself.

Yami notched his arrow, and doing his best to hold the large weapon steady and yet manage to pull the arrow far enough back that it would be able to make it across the distance wasn't easy. Though, this being a Shadow Game, it was easier than it usually would have been due to the fact that, the more worthy of winning the competitor was, the easier the game became. Bows of this size were far larger than the ones he was used to, and was at times even hard for adult men to correctly use, but Yami could hold it because of the boost.

Yami released his arrow, and gave a smirk as it landed perfectly in the center of the target. He let his facade drop entirely, turnign to get a smile to Neserkasru, who looked less than pleased. "I suppose I forgot to tell you I'm the best archer in the palace." The Pharaoh commented casually, amused by the expression still on Neserkasru's face.

"I believe the Pharaoh is winner of this round." Bekhura commented, taking a few steps up until he was level with the competitors, a small grin appearing on his face.

Neserkasru snarled and Yami smirked again, the boy turning to face the bandit. "Your turn, again."

The man notched another arrow, but was so angry that he released it too early and it hit far from the center. He cursed loudly, as Yami shot another arrow directly into the center yet again.

"Looks like we know who the winner's going to be." Jouno commented, coming forward as well with Seth. "One more round; if the Pharaoh beats you again, you loose the whole game."

"I'm not stupid!" Neserkasru snarled, whipping around to face the blond.

Seth chuckled. "You challenged the Pharaoh to a game. If that's not stupid, nothing is."

"Stay out of it!" Neserkasu snapped, turning his focus to him. "No one asked you!"

"My, you have a temper." Bekhura commented dully, crossing his arms. "It's your turn, go... Unless, of course, you're afraid the Pharaoh will get a perfect. Then, you can just forfeit now and be over with it."

"Arrogant little brats..." Neserkasru spat, turning towards the target again. "I'll show you all..."

"Yeah, show us a stunnign defeat." Jouno muttered under his breath, too quietly for the bandit to hear.

Neserkasru took aim carefully, concentrating. It took nearly four minutes for him to shoot, but when he did, he struck the center of the target. "Ha ha! Take that, brats!"

Yami just smiled and easily shot directly into the center of the target. "Draw for this round." He said calmly. He turned to looked up at Neserkasru. "You do know that you have to BEAT my next shot simply to not be declared loser. Two draws and two wins in my favor would leave you only with the possibility of a win, and that does nothing for you. Likewise with two draws, two wins for me, and one win for you. Your next shot may end the game, so be careful."

"I don't need your observations or advice, brat." Neserkasru snarled again, fixing the boy with a cold glare. "I'm a grown man."

"You don't act like one." Jouno muttered again, this time loud enough to be heard. Neserkasru pretended it hadn't been, however.

"Well? Go." Bekhura said calmly, smirking. "Loose, so we can leave already. The sun must have gotten low by now."

Neserkasru took careful aim again, and after another four minutes, hit another bull's eye. He smirked triumphantly, until Yami's arrow landed directly int he center of the boy's target as well.

"You loose." Yami said calmly, turning towards the man. "What I'm taking as my prize, is that you call off all your men so we can leave. It's very reasonable, considering how encompassing our terms were and the multitue of the things I COULD have demanded."

Neserkasru met Yami's eyes, glaring deeply at him, until Yami felt a small stab of pain in his forehead. The Pharaoh immediatly put a hand to his head, wincing, much to the concern of his friends and priest. But Neserkasru seemed satisfied.

"Fine. I'll call off my men." He said, as the Shadow Realm slowly disappeared around them, along with the bows. He smirked, not looking like someone who'd lost. He turned towards the bandits as they became visible again, and shouted to them not to attack.

Yami, Bekhura, Seth, and Jouno took their opportunity, running back towards where they'd lef tthe horses. They'd barely gotten ten yards before they heard a roar from behind them and, whirling around, came face to face with a horde of Shadow Monsters.

The four swore at once and began summoning as well. Seth's favorite kaa, his Diosu, appeared in shining black armour with a matching sword, taking up position beside Seth. Jouno's Flame Swordsman appeared a moment later in blue and orange armour, weilding a long orange that held a strange symbol that almost looked like a simplistic drawing of a burning tree. Bekhura's kaa, an angel with the tail of a snake and called Diabound, appeared towering above all the other monsters. Yami was about to summon a monster of his own when Seth and Bekhura glared at him.

"No summoning for you, little Pharaoh." Bekhura chided, not bothering to watch as Diabound began to wipe out opposing monsters. "You just finished a Shadow Game."

Their attention was drawn back to the battle as Jouno yelped, the Flame Swordsman having been defeated. Jouno was more of a swordsman, like his monster, than a magician, so it wasn't entirely surprising that he was beaten. But it did mean that it was just Diabound and Diosu against a large number of enemy monsters. Yami was surprised that so many of the bandits knew how to draw out their kaas. Usually it wasn't taught to anyone but royalty, the priesthood, and advisors and viziers.

Diosu and Diabound were faring well, but they were still outnumbered. The quartet knew they didn't have a whole lot of time before the two monsters would loose due to the sheer number of enemies, so they began retreating again back towards the horses. Unfortunatly, that plan was foiled when a second batch of monsters appeared behind them, prompting Yami to summon up a Kuribo despite Bekhura's protests.

The furry Kuribos multiptlied with a quick spell from Yami, and effectivly blocked off the other monsters. Though, they couldn't get back that way, and after looking at each other for agreement, silently agreed to change their escape plan.

Yami sent two Kuribos to free the horses, who would undoubtedly return to the palace, before half the wall of Kuribos moved to gather around the Pharaoh. Yami took off sprinting into the monsters facing against Diosu and Diabound, drawing the attacks to the shield of Kuribos, which blew up very close to the monsters. Diosu and Diabound cut a path through, Bekhura, Jouno, and Seth following Yami and their kaas, all going straight through the bandits and the camp to begin their escape into the Eastern Desert.

Once in the clear, the Kuribos returned to the Shadow Realm, and the for took off across the desert with Diabound and Diosu following and holding off the bandits' creatures. Considering so many had already been defeated, the bandits gave up once the boys and their kaas had gotten aways away, leaving the four to get out of sight before the small group stopped running and called back Diosu and Diabound.

The sun had set and the air was rapidly cooling, as was the sand. Seth sighed and dropped to sit in the sand, Jouno flopping down a few feet to his left. Bekhura, looking a little tired but not too much so, remained standing and put a hand on his hip. Yami sat beside his priest, sighing as well and leaning against the brunette tiredly. He stayed that way a moment, before seeming to remember something and straightening, pointing accusitorily at the other boy. "How DARE you do something this stupid! And without be knowing! Following bandits around is NOT work for a priest!"

Seth chuckled. "You're so stuffy." He commented, earning and few blinks from Yami.

"I'M stuffy!? You dare say this when YOU'RE right there!? You're far more stuffy than I am!" Yami protested, looking very offended and causing Jouno to giggle from his spot in the sand.

Bekhura smirked. "You and the priest are so cute together, little Pharaoh." He said, getting glares from both boys and another giggle from Jouno. "But this isn't the time. How are we getting back? It's becoming more cold and we're a few hours' horseback ride from palace."

Yami sighed, his breath faintly visible as the cold of desert night set in. "I'm not sure. Our plans got slightly ruined."

"Someone'll come find us." Seth said confidently, wrapping his long white cape around Yami and himself, holding the Pharaoh gently. "Most likely Aishizu. We've been gone awile; they'll have noticed something is wrong by now."

Bekhura finally sat down, huddling next to the priest and Pharaoh. "Tch, I wouldn't be surprised if only Simon and Aishizu noticed. Simon is the only man in the palace with a brain, and Aishizu is a woman. Anzu might have noticed, but I doubt it, she's not in charge of where you are. The rest of the priests and your other friends are all idiots."

Jouno joined the pack, wrapping his cloak farther around him. "Honda knows we're gone." He reminded. "He'll send people after us."

"I hope so." Seth commented, rolling his eyes. "But Honda's an idiot too. He probably fell asleep."

Yami laughed as Jouno growled, Bekhura agreeing with Seth.

"Oh, Yami," Jouno said, suddenly remembering something and turning to look at the smaller boy. "I thought you told that Neserkasru guy he had to tell the men not to hurt us as your prize for winnign the game. When he broke that, he should've been smote or something, right?"

Yami thought a moment. "Actually..." He said hestitantly, looking slightly embarassed. "It was my fault. I ddin't make the terms clear enough. I said 'Call off all your men so we can leave'; I never mentioned Shadow Monsters. Even though they were summoned by the bandits, the bandits themselves weren't attacking us, so they were within the rules. I... Need to word more carefully." He said, seeming a bit guilty.

"Don't worry about it." Seth said, hugging the Pharaoh tighter a moment before loosening his grip again. "Everyone's fine, so it turned out alright."

"Besides, now we have an excuse to do something bad to him next time we see him." Bekhura commented, smirking.

"Yeah!" Jouno said enthusiastically, causing a glare from Seth.

"That was far too loud. Be quiet for a little while." The priest said, sighing annoyedly. "In fact, just be quiet until someone comes to save us."

Jouno grumbled, but decided to follow the priest's orders anyway. Bekhura crossed his arms and closed his eyes, but didn't sleep. Yami, thankful for the silence, rested his head against Seth's chest and tried to stay warm.

Eight hours later, Seth and Bekhura looked up at the sound of hooves. A few minutes later, Kalim, Shaadah, Honda, and Simon were all dismounting their horses and rushing over, looking worried.

Jouno stretched lazily, having been dozing, and looked up at the priests, Honda, and Simon. "Glad to see you." He commented, takign the hand Honda offered and standing up, shivering a bit until Honda gave him a blanket. Bekhura also stood, looking mostly unaffected by the cold, and wandered over to explain what had happened to Kalim and Shaadah.

Simon knelt down next to Seth and Yami, who was beginning to worry the vizier due to the fact he'd made no move to show he'd heard them arrive. Simon gently shook Yami's shoulder, pleased when the boy murmered something and moved closer to Seth.

Simon chuckled and pulled Yami away from Seth, wrapping him in a blanket as well, before noticing the Pharaoh's lips had turned a faint blueish color. Seth noticed as well, and calmed Simon by placing a hand on his arm. "He'll be fine now that he's got a blanket. He'll wake up soon, don't worry."

Bekhura glanced over, wondering what the fuss was about, and quickly discovered the reason. He gave a small grin. "Figures." He commented dryly. "The little Pharoah has no luck for anything outside of games."

* * *

Four hours later, all warm and happy in the palace, Seth and Bekhura explained what had happened to the priests. Jouno, Bekhura, and Yami had all been sent to bed; despite the latter having woken up an hour before and been completely fine, Simon had still insisted he rest.

After the story had been told, the priests all turned to glare at Seth.

"What an irresponsible thing to do!" Akunadin practically bellowed, causing Seth's bangs to flip everywhere and making the boy think the holder of the Eye needed to do something about his breath. Otherwise, he wasn't bothered in the slightest. Akunadin yelled at everyone all the time.

"I think we established that." Seth said, yawning. "I'm goign to bed." He declared, wandering off down the corridors, much to Akunadin's surprise at having been mostly ignored. Mahaado tried to hide a smile, but Akunadin noticed and glared half heartedly at him. Kalim and Shaadah stared ahead stocily, willing themselves not to laugh, and AIshizu just sighed and shook her head.

"Honestly." She muttered, turning and beginning to leave the throne room to return to her chambers. "You'd think the priesthood was made up of teenage boys..."

* * *

A/N: Yes, I am aware that the symbol on the Flame Swordsman's sword is Kanji. XD Just threw it in as a bit of oddness, since Kanji's not supposed to be in AE. XD

So... Guesses on Neserkasru? XD And yes, he will be appearing again. For he is... Semi important. Not really. But a little bit.

Please review and make me happy. ;;


	8. Visitors from Greece

**A/N:** I don't think I can excuse the amount of time it took to write this chapter. _Sigh_. Especially not with the lack of quality it has. _Sigh._ Sorry... But I'm getting to the part of the story I really DO want to write, so it should improve. Seriously.

However, the excuse I shall offer is that I have a new pup. She's a demon. XD But she's a cute demon.

Oh, and since I didn't respond to reviews last chapter, I'm going to do it in this one along with the reviews that would normally be responded to.

**Starlit Hope:** (6) X3

(7)Yes, I did update. XD

**Gamelover:** (6) - Thanks for the review!

**AuroraIce:** (6) XD I barely ever do cliffhangers. I haaaad to. XD And yes, Yami's a bit young to be Pharaoh. XD

(7)Ah, I wrote... A sentence on Catnip? XD I just haven't had any inspiration, but I plan to work on it more soon.

**yamisugar:** (6)- Sankyuu for the review!

**Ryuujin DragonKing:** (6)- Sankyuu! Yeah, Yami doesn't have a whole lot of luck. XD Scrying is another word for divining; seeing into the future or things you can't see happening in the present. And yes, Nebenkharu will come back soon.

(7)X3 Already told you about Neserkasru. - And glad you liked the chapter!

**Ain-Siti-Naunet:** (6) Aaalmost right on the Nebenkharu and Yami's father thing. It's not entirely Nebenkharu's fault, though it could be blamed on him, yes. XD And glad you liked Malik and everyone.

(7)- Sankyuu! Glad you liked the shadow game. Yesyes, Yami's excellent at archery. _Nodnod._ Only physical thing he can do. XD And glad you liked the conversations between everyone. X3 Thanks for the review!

**Lilmatchgirl007:** (7)Yesyes, Bakura and Yami will be at odds by the end of the story. _Nodnod_. Thanks for the review and glad you liked.

**Millennium**: (6) Ooh, Khemeten words would be neat. _Nodnod_. Dunno if I'd be able to use them, but probably... For spells and such.

Oh, the saved slap will come back, don't worry. XD And Mai and Pegasus will be arriving in this chapter.

_Nodnod_. Yeah, the Yugioh reincarnation has always been a funny thing. And yes, the floor is really, really polished... Something. XD

Yay for candy apples! _Munches._ Okay, to your next review. X3

(7)- Yay, glad ye liked. Ha, yes, was supposed to be a sword. XD I reconstructed that sentence a few times, and apparently lost the word. XD

Neserkasru is a made up name, however, it has significance in it's similarity to another name. _Nods sagely._

I've never been to J-A-N-E. XD But yes, Bekhura is an evil, devious little twit with a lot of time on his hands. XD

Yes, the later events will mostly tie in to the memory arc (after Nebenkharu is dealt with). Zork wasn't intended to be a part, but I may manage to work him in any way. XD

Yes, I realized 6 pages for a chapter was pathetic. XD Thanks for the review, and glad you liked.

**Silver Nightingale:** (6) XD I'm slooooow. Bekhura's a cute little dork; he has to fear something. XD Yami has an equally stupid fear of a certain small, poisonous creature, though not spiders. XD Thanks for the compliments.

(7)XD I love the Lady of Faith outfit. As for his priest robes, they're a lot like Seth's. Only less colorful; more reds than blues, and a lot of jewelry. And no hat. XD

And yes, there will be a conflict between Yami and Bekhura. Thanks for the review!

**Meeko-san:** (6) XD Glad you liked.

(7)- 'Tis fine. I know how computers are. XD Glad you liked.

**Mistress of Foxes:** Well, skirts are amusing, aren't they? XD Especially manskirts. And mannuns. But that's something entirely different. XD Thanks for the review!

**Other Notes:** I have a preview for Fumetsu up in my LJ; I'll be adding a link to the specific entry on my profile soon if I haven't already. I've changed a few things about the idea and setting for it, so basically, much of the random stuff I mentioned about it shoudl be ignored. Except for that it takes place after Eien and Itsumo. XD How far after? I'm still working on that (not more than two years; probably one or one and a half.) So go read! And leave me comments, yo. XD

**Warnings:** Cursing, maybe?

**Disclaimer:** Don't own it, yadda yadda. Like anyone's gonna sue fanfic writers. XD

**Summary of Last Chapter:** I have no clue. _Looks it up_ Oh, right, the little group went off to save Seth.

**Preview for this chapter:** Pegasus and Mai arrive!

* * *

Itsumo; part 8  
by: Amiasha 

The Pharaoh yawned, laying his head on his arms as he half-heartedly listened to the meeting. Sleeping was more important to the boy than hearing about minor matters such as temple priests' complaints that the palace wasn't supplying them enough herbs.

"They want more myrrh, mostly." Shaadah's voice drifted across Yami's mind, followed by Seth's disapproving snort and Bekhura's identically toned 'tch'. "I didn't say we should LISTEN to them..." The Ankh priest defended.

"They're just complaining." Akunadin muttered, and Yami heard a flutter of cloth as the man most likely crossed his arms. "I vote to tell them to find their own herbs."

"Of course you do." Simon sighed. "You're not the one who has to DEAL with them. Atem and I are, unfortunately. Atem, what do you think?"

Yami, who had begun to doze, jumped up, blinking a few times as he looked over at Simon. "I... I... What...? What DO I think?" He asked, blinking a few more times and stressing the wrong word in his sleepiness.

Seth snorted again, though this time in amusement, and Akunadin glared at the Pharaoh. The priests hid giggles, Simon sighed and rolled his eyes in amusement, and Bekhura gently grabbed one of Yami's golden bangs and gave a light tug. "I don't know, little Pharaoh. What DO you think?"

"Not a lot, apparently." Akunadin muttered, earning a glare from Yami as he woke up more. Akunadin had been surprisingly hostile towards him lately, and it bothered the boy.

Yami, now thirteen, had been Pharaoh for five years, and it was starting to take a toll on him. Instead of getting more used to it as time went on, it became harder to manage all the tasks of being Pharaoh as time went on. Part of it had to do with lack of sleep and stress, and the rest with the fact that the priests had been specialized into different areas; Mahaado into magic and security of the tombs, Shaadah and Kalim into dealing with criminals, Aishizu into healing and divination, and Akunadin and Seth into magic and Shadow magic. Leaving Yami and Simon to handle everything else that didn't require a vote.

Yami wasn't exactly sure WHY the temple priests' complaints needed a vote, but it had been deemed they had. Bekhura, standing in for Aishizu who was tending to some guards that had landed themselves in the healers' rooms, wasn't really helping. He kept 'tch'ing at everything; his presence there more for show than help in decision making.

"Atem, we're discussing the temple priests' whining." Seth informed the Pharaoh, rolling his eyes. "While we COULD be doing something more interesting. Like watching Mafdet sleep. Or waiting for it to rain."

"Oh, right." Yami said, sighing and replacing his head on his arms. He thought a moment. "Let them have whatever's not needed here in the palace. If they need more, they have to find it themselves."

"Sounds fine." Simon said, nodding. "All in agreement." He stated, not bothering for a vote. Ryuuji, who had been watching silently and mostly unnoticed, scribbled down the verdict onto a scroll of papyrus as the priests all got up to leave.

"Come on Bekhura." Seth said, grabbing the thief's arm. "You have Shadow dueling practice with me." He reminded calmly, leading the other boy out of the room.

Bekhura made an apathetic noise and followed after him, waving a cheerful goodbye to Yami as they disappeared out of sight.

Mahaado watched them go, before looking back at Yami and giving a rare smirk. "I wonder how long it will take them to figure out they went the wrong direction."

"Awhile." Yami responded, yawning again. "I think the Shadow Games have been causing them to steadily decline in intelligence."

"They weren't like that before?" Mahaado asked in a soft monotone.

Yami grinned at him. "Not to THAT extent." He took his head off his arms and rubbed at his eyes, yawning again. Simon wandered over as the other priests were dispersing, putting his hands on his hips and looking down at the boy. Yami blinked and looked up.

"You should go rest awhile." Simon said, as soon as he had the boy's attention. "You're not needed for anything major for another few hours, and the trivial things I can take care of. Go get some sleep while you can."

Yami was about to protest but decided against it and got up, wandering off out of the room. Simon sighed after him and looked back at Mahaado. "He's not doing very well."

Mahaado stood up, looking at the door Yami had exited before turning his attention back towards Simon. "I know. He needs more people helping him. There just aren't enough priests and advisors to take care of everything."

Simon nodded. "We should make Bekhura a priest; he's almost one already. Then he could go about and do some of the things only priests can do."

"Aren't there enough children in the priesthood as it is?" Akunadin asked, coming over. "Talented as they may be," He added, when Mahaado gave him a look that obviously conveyed his disapproval of the Eye priest's statement, "More adults, who have had more experience, would be a better choice."

"Atem doesn't get along well with adults." Simon reminded the other man. "Bekhura's someone he knows and trusts, and it won't be much of a jump. He'll be suspicious of anyone new, especially if they're a lot older."

"The boy is paranoid." Akunadin stated, crossing his arms.

"He's cautious. If you were thirteen and the king of the most powerful nation in the world, you would be cautious as well." Mahaado interjected, his blond hair fluttering. Even more so than Yami, his magic flared when he was angry and caused a wind to start.

Akunadin glared at the priest. "Maybe it was a mistake crowning him, then. We should have put someone more experienced on the throne."

"Oh, and who would THAT be?" Mahaado shot back, eyes narrowing. "It's not as if Pharaoh Akunamukannon had any other relatives."

Akunadin was about to respond, but seemed to catch himself. He looked at Simon, who looked back, leaving Mahaado slightly confused and feeling as if there was something more that should have been said, before a soft voice interrupted their discussion.

"You know, it's amazing what you hear when people think you've left." Yami commented, arms crossed as he leaned against the doorframe. He looked over at Simon and Mahaado. "I'll ask Bekhura what he thinks about being a priest." He said, before looking at Akunadin. "I am not paranoid. And I, too, would like to know who you would think should have been Pharaoh if not me."

Akunadin gaped, obviously not expecting the Pharaoh to reappear, and attempted to compose himself. "With all due respect, Atem, I meant we should have chosen someone older until you were ready to take over. Even now you're too young to have so much responsibility. As for who, I would have suggested Simon, or one of your older priests."

"Like you?" Yami asked, a small smile showing itself as Akunadin's aura rippled at his words.

Mahaado crossed his arms as Akunadin attempted to recompose himself again, and Simon simply looked a bit concerned. Yami tilted his head slightly. "I don't know exactly what, but something's changed about you." He said to the Eye priest softly. "And it's not a change for the better, either."

"Nothing's changed about me, Atem." Akunadin replied.

Yami let it drop, just sighing tiredly and brushing a lock of gold hair from his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something else, but shut it again a moment later and exited the room, leaving Akunadin, Simon, and Mahaado confused behind him.

* * *

"Diabound, Rasenhadou." Bekhura said calmly, yawning slightly. His opponent, Seth, was equally unexcited as he ordered his own kaa. 

"Diosu, defend..." The tall priest said boredly. The two monsters clashed unenthusiastically, seemingly having the same level of interest in the duel as the boys did.

"...This is stupid." Bekhura declared after a minute of watching the monsters pretty much just slap at each other. "Practice time is over."

"I agree." Seth said lazily. "We need different opponents next time. We've done this so often it's predictable, even for our kaas." He added, glancing up at said kaas as they backed off, the priest and the kaas all sharing the same look of unconcern.

The thief nodded his agreement, running a hand through his white hair. "Let's go make fun of Jouno. He's practicing his dueling in the training room. Something about trying out a new kaa. Was bragging to the little Pharaoh about a dragon."

Seth got more interested. "A dragon? Why would that stupid guard have enough magic to have one of his soul monsters be a dragon?"

"Actually," Bekhura stated, "This would be his second dragon kaa. In addition to his Flame Swordsman, I found out about his second kaa, a Thousand Dragon."

Seth blinked. "Alright, let's go see what this new one is, then. You've convinced me."

Bekhura nodded with mock pride, before lowering his eyelids and purring seductively. "I can be very persuasive."

Seth was less than impressed. "You can also be very stupid." He commented, gliding off towards the entrance back into the palace as Bekhura followed the taller boy with an amused expression on his face.

They entered the training room to see Jouno and Honda dueling. Honda had a monster that held a sword and was wearing shining black armour. It was a relatively average monster, so it wasn't too interesting, but Jouno's kaa got Seth almost gaping.

It was a beautiful black dragon with glowing red eyes, and it was about triple Jouno's height. It had a serpentine head and a beak-like mouth, and made a sound similar to a hawk's cry when it turned it's attention towards Honda's kaa. Seth, who had always admired and coveted dragons, was practically staring in astonishment.

Jouno didn't miss the priest's look and grinned before returning his attention back towards Honda. "Attack, Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

It only took a moment for the dragon's fire to obliterate Honda's monster. Jouno cheered and jumped up and down once, having won the match. He turned his brown eyes towards Seth again. "Ha! I said I was stronger than you thought!" He gloated, grinning. "Surprise!"

Bekhura snickered a bit at Seth's shocked expression. The priest swiveled around to glare at him. "You knew about this, didn't you!? You were just pretending to have barely heard anything!"

"Of course!" Bekhura exclaimed. "Jouno and I have always worked together to trick you, have we not?" He asked, grinning and tapping the brunette once on the tip of the nose. "Now, I'm going to go find the little Pharaoh. Have fun." He said, smirking at Seth before bounding off through the door into the hallway of the palace.

Seth glowered after him, before looking back at Jouno who seemed to be trying not to burst with laughter. The priest's blue eyes narrowed. If Jouno thought he was so great, Seth would simply have to take it upon himself to prove otherwise. "Duel me, Jouno!"

Jouno stopped laughing. "Eh, what?" He asked, blinking. "You want me to what?"

"Duel me. If your new kaa is so powerful, demonstrate. And not against Honda's pathetic monster; he's not even a Shadow Gamer." Seth challenged, crossing his arms and getting his usual confident look. "Unless you're afraid I'll beat you, of course."

Jouno faltered. "Of course not!" He said, though his voice lacked the conviction they usually did. "But... Yami told me he didn't want me delving too deeply into the Games. He said, in particular, 'Don't duel Seth.'"

Seth glared. "And why not?"

"Something about feeding obsessions." Jouno replied, shrugging. "He was in one of his broody moods, and he was mumbling, so I didn't catch it all." The blond stopped, looking at Honda who had come over before returning his gaze to Seth's. "He really doesn't like the Games, you know."

Seth sighed, getting annoyed. Yami had expressed his concerns over the Games more than once to him but while he trusted his Pharaoh to be wise, he felt the other boy's fears were unfounded. The Games had been played for a long time and no bad had come from them yet, besides the penalties incurred by the loser. But this entire matter was not one Jouno, of all people, should have been discussing with him. Jouno was not a scholar, not a sorcerer, not a diviner, and not even a healer. He was a guard, who took part in the very Games he was preaching to him about.

"I don't have time for you." Seth replied, glaring at the blond. "Yes, I know of our Pharaoh's concerns, and I have made my decisions. You are not in any place to even discuss this matter, so don't bring it up to me again. Now, considering you're too cowardly to take up my challenge, I have things I need to do that are more important than talking a lowly guard." He declared in his best haughty voice, sweeping from the room before Jouno got a chance to respond.

Once in the hallway, Seth stalked down the hallway towards the throne room to see if his Pharaoh had returned to the main part of the palace and if he needed to chase the boy back to bed so the royal could get his precious few hours of rest. As it turned out, Yami wasn't in the room, though Akunadin, Mahaado, Aishizu, and Simon all were. When Seth entered, they looked up and waved him over.

The priest made his way across the gold hall to meet up with the four, looking to see what they were gathered around and seeing that it was one of Aishizu's scrying pools. The water was clear instead of the black that the priestess and Yami usually used, which told Seth it probably wasn't being used for diving purposes. "What are you all doing?"

"We're discussing bringing in new advisor." Akunadin explained, getting a glare from Simon that he ignored. "Our Pharaoh's simply too young to deal with everything, even with the six of us and Simon. Simon has proposed giving Bekhura a promotion to priest," The Eye holder said, his expression barely masking his displeasure at the idea, "But he wouldn't be enough. I suggested that we bring in my friend, who you've met but I'm not sure you'd remember, named Pegasus."

Seth tried to recall the face that went with the name, but was unable to. All he could get was that he had a feeling the man was a foreigner. "Isn't he from another country?"

"He's Greek, yes." Akunadin replied, at which Simon's glare darkened and the short man crossed his arms. "But he's been doing spying for Egypt for awhile."

"He has?" Seth asked, raising an eyebrow at the same time as Aishizu, Mahaado, and Simon all gave surprised looks at the oldest priest. "Why didn't I know about this? And does _Atem_ know about this?"

Akunadin faltered a moment, as Simon spoke up. "If he does, he didn't tell me. Do you mean to tell us you had a spy in Greece?" Simon asked, eyes narrowing.

"Who has a spy in Greece?" Yami asked, entering the throne room with Bekhura next to him, the thief still in priests' robes. The Pharaoh wasn't looking especially well; he was pale from exhaustion and his normally bright eyes were dull. He set his hands on his hips and glared at the group as they all looked at him in surprise, obviously not in the best mood. "Is someone going to speak, or are you all going to stare at me? I KNOW that I look strange, I've heard it more than enough, but I thought you all were used to it."

Aishizu and Mahaado looked apologetic, as did Simon, but Akunadin seemed unconcerned and Seth just sighed before locking eyes with the other boy. "You know that's not it. Stop taking your mood out on us; we didn't do anything to you."

"At least not in the past hour." Bekhura added, smirking.

Yami seemed to deflate, his posture shifting back to normal instead of confrontational and he removed his hands from his hips, sighing heavily and looking down at the ground. A moment later he looked back up. "I'm sorry everyone." He apologized. "I'm just a bit edgy."

"That's alright." Simon said understandingly, coming forward to gently put a hand on the thirteen year old's shoulder. "You have a right to be." He added, casting a dark glare towards Akunadin who returned it.

Yami watched all this carefully, before smiling and nodding at Simon and then stepping around him to move towards the gathering of priests. "Again, who has a spy in Greece?"

Akunadin hesitated, but Mahaado spoke up for him. "Akunadin does, and wants this spy to come and serve as another advisor. We were about to contact him through Aishizu's portal."

Yami titled his head and gave Akunadin a look that clearly showed he wasn't amused, before he stepped farther forward to reach the pool Aishizu was sprinkling herbs into, Bekhura and Simon following right behind him. The Pharaoh paused a moment, thinking of how to word his next statement. "...Let's meet him, then. But I want to make one thing very clear, first."

He waited until everyone was looking at him before continuing. "I have the final say. I am the one who chooses, and I don't appreciate people going behind my back. As for the fact that you had a spy in a foreign country," He said, focusing on Akunadin, his tone taking on a more formal and authoritative air, "That will be dealt with later. I am not pleased that you were risking the fragile trust I've been working to build with the other countries we interact with, and note that it will not be continuing any longer."

That said, he turned back to Simon. "What is this person's name?"

"Pegasus." Simon responded. "He's Greek himself, so I don't understand why he'd be spying for us."

Yami sighed heavily, looking at Bekhura who shrugged, and Seto who was looking a combination between angry and concerned. He then turned to Aishizu. "How long before the spell activities?"

"Not long, Atem." The woman responded calmly, beginning to wave her hands over the water's surface. "Another minute, at most. Run your fingers through your hair, it's disheveled. And straighten your crown; it's slipping again."

Yami blinked a few times, hurriedly doing as she had told him. Aishizu had been very much a mother to him since his own mother had died, especially after he'd become Pharaoh, and if she told him he needed to do something he usually trusted her on it. The moment he'd gotten all that done, the water began to ripple, indicating that the viewing portal was opening. Another few seconds, and a handsome man who appeared to be about Rishid's age, in his late teens or early twenties, with honey brown eyes and long silver hair appeared. He beamed at Yami, who was a bit surprised.

"Pleased to meet you, your highness!" The man, Pegasus, enthused. He gave a tiny bow, looking very cheerful.

Yami blinked at him, before composing himself back into his regal air. "Pleased to meet you... Pegasus."

"Akunadin said he'd be calling." Pegasus said, twirling a strand of silver hair around his finger as he spoke. "But I didn't know I'd get to talk to you."

Mahaado shot Akunadin a dark look again, which the older priest promptly returned before stepping up to the pool and into Pegasus's view. "Hello, Pegasus."

"Hello, Akunadin!" Pegasus chirped. "There you are!"

Akunadin sighed slightly, Pegasus's cheerfulness beginning to annoy him as it always did. "Pegasus, we had a proposition for you."

"Oh?" Pegasus asked, stopping playing with his hair and looking more serious and attentive. "About what?"

Akunadin looked back at the others, Simon just giving a careless shrug which obviously meant 'You're on your own'. When the priest looked to Yami he noticed that the boy was concentrating, eyes slightly blank and his magic swirling gently around him. Seeing as Mahaado, Seth, Bekhura, and Aishizu all had Simon's attitude, he sighed and turned back to Pegasus. "We were discussing offering you a position as a priest."

"A priest?" Pegasus raised an eyebrow, looking almost amused. "You think I would make a good priest?"

"I think you're one of the best suited people I know of." Akunadin affirmed, nodding and ignored the identical sounds of annoyance from Seth and Bekhura.

"What does the Pharaoh have to say about this?" Pegasus asked, eyebrow still raised as he seemed to be studying Akunadin.

Yami, hearing his title, blinked a few times and lowered his spell, it having already accomplished the purpose he'd had for it. He looked into the pool again. "I would think that, if you were interested, it would be feasible to try it." At Simon, Bekhura, and his priests' confused expressions, Yami gave them a look that told them he would explain afterwards.

"Well, alright." Pegasus agreed, shrugging. He seemed to remember something. "Can I bring someone with me?"

"Who?" Akunadin asked, blinking his one eye.

"A girl I met here in Greece." Pegasus said. "She's looking to get out of the country; she'd be a great help, I know it, she's really quite bright."

Yami considered it a moment, then nodded. "Yes, you can bring her." He said, and Pegasus gave a little cheer.

"We'll be there in a week." Pegasus promised. "Thank you, your highness!"

"Wait a moment," Yami said, and Pegasus looked at him inquisitively. "I know your name, but what's the name of the girl who's coming with you?"

Pegasus smiled. "Mai."

* * *

A week later Yami found himself waiting in the throne room, sitting sideways on the throne with his legs over the armrest, and looking bored. Pegasus and Mai were to arrive in less than an hour according to Aishizu's kaa Superia, who had located them not long before. As of now, Yami knew he had about a minute and a half to fix his position before he was set to hear some complaints from more of the temple priests, but he was having a hard time finding the desire to care. 

"Yami, really." Simon said, entering the room and casting a disapproving look at the Pharaoh. "Sit up straight."

Yami sighed but did as he was told, turning to sit up properly and casting a blank look at Simon. Simon just smiled in return.

"Oi, Little Pharaoh." Bekhura said, entering the throne room through the door behind the throne. "Seth sent one of the little minion children to inform me that our dear Akunadin's 'friend' and his girl will be arriving sooner than expected; you should make sure to tell Aishizu she's a failure at both being a seeress AND sending her kaa out."

Yami glared at him, raising an eyebrow. "I will do no such thing." He considered a moment. "But you can go right ahead. Make sure I'm in the room, though; I want to see what she does to you."

"Very funny." Bekhura responded, coming to stand next to the throne. He looked around. "Where are your priests?"

"You mean 'Where are my other priests?'." Yami said, smirking. He poked at the thief. "After all, you're one of the wonderful group now, remember?"

"Ah, right." Bekhura replied. "I always forget that." He grinned evilly.

Yami rolled his eyes. "They're probably not here yet simply because Pegasus and Mai aren't supposed to arrive for awhile. I assume the message is being sent to them and they'll show up."

"They'd better." Simon commented, crossing his arms. "Especially Akunadin. This is his idea, after all."

Bekhura snorted. "The priest is a little off, and coming from me, you know that it must be serious." He looked over at Yami in amusement.

Yami laughed and rolled his eyes, beginning to say something in response when he was interrupted by the arrival of his other priests. Seth and Mahaado entered the room first, arguing over something indiscernible but obviously important to them, though they stopped when they saw Yami. Next came Aishizu, with a distinctly annoyed expression, followed by Kalim who looked a bit confused, and then finally Akunadin, who seemed to be in quite a bad mood. Jouno and Honda entered the room just after them, coming over to stand on either side and to the back of Yami's throne, where they proceeded to stand quietly for a moment, then lose it and begin poking each other, trying to see who would otherwise remain stoic the longest.

The six original priests arranged themselves on either side of the path that led up to the throne, Simon and Bekhura staying up on the raised platform the throne was on. Yami closed his eyes briefly before reopening them, attempting to switch into regal Pharaoh mode instead of bored, tired mode.

The door opened a few moments later, but instead of the usual precession of people only two entered, both looking around interestedly as they walked up to the line of priests. The white haired man, Pegasus, smiled at them all. "Why hello, Pharaoh." He said brightly, giving a cheerful bow before looked at Akunadin. "And nice to see you."

Akunadin nodded at him, and Yami smiled a bit. Pegasus's good mood an energy were somewhat contagious. He looked over at the man's companion, who he presumed was Mai. She was a moderately tall woman with long golden hair and violet eyes, and she appeared to be in her late teens. She caught him looking at her, and smiled. "Hello your highness," She said smoothly in a rich feminine voice. "My name is Mai. Thank you for letting me into your country; it's lovely here."

Yami blinked hurriedly, and then nodded. He sensed Jouno's energy shift, and cast a glance back at the other boy, to see that the blond had a very pronounced blush and was almost drooling at Mai. The Pharaoh turned to look at Bekhura, who had a broad smirk on his face as he also noticed Jouno's reaction, but attempted to cover it when his friend turned his gaze towards him.

Yami shook his head, smiling, and looked back at the newcomers. He was getting the same feeling he'd gotten from the spell he'd used when talking to Pegasus the week before; a feeling of happiness, amusement, and sincerity. The boy didn't have a doubt that the duo had been completely honest as to their intentions and reasons for wanting to come to Egypt, and for once believed Akunadin may have had a good idea in asking Pegasus to come. Both the silver haired man and Mai had an obvious affinity for magic, and both seemed very intelligent, so they would both be suited to and helpful in the palace.

The Pharaoh stood up, descended the steps, and walked over to Pegasus and Mai. He looked at them both for a moment, before smiling at them again. "Welcome to Egypt."

* * *

**A/N**: Yeah... Sucked. XD The next chapters will be better, I promise, since we're getting to the good stuff. 

Please review! -


	9. Oh, Cry Me a River

**A/N**: Oooookay. A bit of an explanation is in order, I suppose. XD Firstly, this is not the entire chapter. But I've had major writer's block lately, so I decided to put what I did have of the chapter up and simply make it two parts. Better than nothing, yes?

Secondly... This chapter sucks? XD I've been having a hard time getting the storyline to move right; there are things that were supposed to be introduced earlier that got forgotten, things I've decided should be put in, and an entire sub plot was taken out. So... I've been a bit discouraged. But I'm working on it. XD

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed; I don't have time to do responses right now, but I might post a link to them in my bio if I do them later. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and I'll try and get this moving again. I wanna write Fumetsu! XD

Oh, one last thing, go check out Ahmar's fic. It's excellent, and she writes the same genre as these are, so... Yes. And she's my friend. XD

On to the chapter!

* * *

Itsumo; chapter 9  
by: Amiasha 

Yami ran his fingers through his hair, yawning widely. This seemed to be how most of his days started, always tired and bored, as he listened to the morning meeting. This day was particularly special, as Seth and Bekhura were yelling at each other across the table yet again. Yami wasn't quite sure what they were fighting over, but it seemed most of the other priests didn't either judging by the baffled looks on their faces. Of course, what the two had been originally fighting over was probably lost forever, because all they were doing now was yelling insults at each other.

"Go drown yourself in the Nile!"

"That would be an option if I didn't know you were near it yesterday. It's contaminated for at least another week."

"Even if that was true, you should be honored to be anywhere near me!"

"Careful priest, if you get too much hot air your big-ass hat might fly away."

Yami just sighed and hid his face in his hands.

The Pharaoh was now fifteen years old and a grand four foot ten inches tall. He'd been Pharaoh for seven years, and had finally gotten everything under control. Day to day operations ran as smoothly as possible even with the random fights that broke out, the priests all had gotten used to their jobs and were easily handling them and still finding time to help Yami with other things, and there had been no hostile actions taken towards Egypt by any other countries. Everything was going relatively well.

Seth was almost seventeen years old and the second most powerful priest in terms of magic, coming in right after Mahaado. He was the best Shadow Gamer of them all, and was in fact, with Akunadin, the one who oversaw the documenting and registering of kaas, and also dealt with criminals. He was officially High Priest, and most of the other priests turned to him as their leader even though they didn't want to admit it.

Bekhura was almost eighteen, and he had been a priest for almost a year. It was more of a title than anything else; the thief rarely attended any of the priestly matters, and he certainly didn't act like much like a priest. He mostly accompanied Yami around; fulfilling a combination of friend, advisor, and bodyguard.

Mahaado was twenty-two, and in addition to the tomb guards, was in charge of the army. It was an odd position for him, considering Mahaado specialized in magic and not fighting, but he was one of the best strategists in the kingdom.

Kalim, also twenty-two, helped Mahaado with the army. He was good at both magic and sword fighting.

Aishizu was twenty-two as well, and both the top healer and the best seeress in the kingdom. She was exceptional at her two fields, and she was also the head of foreign diplomacy. She was officially the High Priestess and the most revered woman in all of Egypt. Girls and young women from both Egypt and other countries traveled to the palace simply to meet her and try to follow in her footsteps. She had a small group of women she had taken on to teach to become priestesses that lived in the palace.

Shaadah, like most of the other priests, was twenty-two. He, along with Seth and Akunadin, helped in dealing with criminals.

Akunadin was more or less Seth's helper and advisor; he tended to avoid Yami as the priest and the Pharaoh had been on somewhat bad terms for almost a year.

Simon was still acting as Yami's main advisor and, more importantly, the supportive adult figure. Yami was coming to him less and less with problems, but Simon still did his best to be there when needed. Of course, he also helped Yami with the official decisions for the kingdom.

Jouno and Honda were both sixteen and still Yami's personal guards, though much of the time they weren't needed. Yami could protect himself well enough, so they mostly just wandered about the palace, goofing off until Yami needed them for something.

Anzu was sixteen as well, and just under Aishizu in healing. There was talk of her possibly becoming a priestess. She mostly stayed with the girls Aishizu was teaching, giving them lessons and information while the seeress was busy.

Ryuuji, also sixteen, was the official scribe for Yami. Though, like the others, he had a lot of free time due to Yami's efforts to cut down on meetings and official things that needed scribing. He mostly wandered the palace with Jouno and Honda, fighting with Honda over Jouno's younger sister Shizuka, who was fourteen.

Mokuba was ten, and proudly doing his best to follow in his older brother's footsteps. He followed Seth around all the time he could, trying to learn more about his brother's job.

Mana, fourteen like Shizuka, was another aspiring priestess. She was quite advanced in her magic, considering she was training under Mahaado in sorcery. She and Shizuka were friends, and often did things together. Mana had a love for causing mischief, and tended to get Shizuka into a lot of trouble.

Rishid, now twenty-five, and Malik, now sixteen, were both still in charge of overseeing the various temples around the palace. Yami didn't see either of them often, though they did come to bother Aishizu a lot.

Mai was eighteen, and she was a great help around the palace. She knew a small amount about almost everything, so she was often called on to be an extra person when a little more support was needed.

Pegasus, now twenty-two, was an excellent vizier. He was able to give helpful input and advice for many situations, much like Mai. He was also relatively good at magic.

"Why don't you go back to whatever hovel you came from?"

"Why don't you both be quiet?" Mahaado asked in a display of rarely seen annoyance, complete with an eye twitch. "If I have to hear you argue over nothing for any longer, I'm going to try out the new spells I've been working in with the two of you as my test subjects. Understand?"

Bekhura and Seth both sweatdropped, then sat back in their seats and looked off in different directions. Mahaado's eye twitched again, and he turned towards Yami. "I think we've discussed as much as we can this morning."

Yami nodded at him. "I agree." He got up from his chair and stretched lazily, as the rest of the court got ready to leave as well. He turned to Simon. "I don't have anything I'm supposed to be a part of for a few hours, yes?"

Simon nodded. "This evening there's going to be the usual meeting, but no, nothing before." He looked at the boy suspiciously. "What are you planning?"

Yami smiled at him. "Nothing, Simon."

Simon sighed, knowing better than to believe the boy. But considering he was the Pharaoh, there was only so much Simon could tell him he couldn't do. "Whatever hazardous thing you're going to do, please be careful." He said, sighing again.

Yami nodded once. "Of course. I always am." He said brightly. He turned towards Bekhura and Seth. "Are you coming?"

"As always." Bekhura responded, crossing his arms. Seth gave an expression that clearly meant he wasn't too interested in the whole thing, but nodded anyway.

Yami nodded at them and then wandered out of the room, turning down the hall and ducking into the secret passage that lead towards his room. Seth and Bekhura followed right after him.

"So, where had we planned on venturing?" Bekhura asked, as they entered Yami's room and were greeted by the cats.

"Down into the city." Yami responded, summoning up a cloak and digging for his less expensive shoes. "I wanted to see how everything was going in the city itself."

"You have scouts to do that for you, you know." Seth responded, summoning a cloak for himself as well and tucking the Rod into the back of his gold plated belt.

"Yes, but they're less than helpful." Yami said, finding his sandals, putting them on and beginning to lace them up.

Seth shrugged, and Bekhura snorted as he changed into his long red coat, turning slightly to speak to the Pharaoh. "I told one of them to go down to the Nile to look for something, and he asked me where the Nile was."

"Remind me to fire him." Yami replied calmly, finishing lacing the sandals and putting on his cloak.

"Mahaado already did it." Bekhura replied, petting Spot. "I'm not sure why, but Mahaado didn't look especially happy. I think the scout may have insulted him, either on purpose or directly."

"Mahaado takes things too seriously." Seth responded, crossing his arms.

"Oh, you're one to criticize on taking things too seriously." Yami added in, pulling his hair down to fall around his shoulders and then casting a spell to turn the gold and red locks black. "Alright, no more bickering; lets go."

"Lead the way, your highness." Seth said, rolling his eyes.

"You know," Bekhura spoke up, sounding distinctly evil. "I'm not sure if 'highness' is-"

Yami elbowed him hard in the stomach, making the thief double over, wheezing. "Don't you dare finish your sentence."

Seth snorted in amusement, striding out of Yami's room as the other two followed, Yami looking annoyed and Bekhura looked pained.

A few minutes later they exited the palace and mingled into the crowd of people in the city. Bekhura quickly moved so close to Yami he was almost stepping on his heels before the teen could get separated from him, and Seth stuck close to both of them though it wouldn't be hard to spot the high priest even if they did stray from him; Seth stood a bit taller than most of the citizens around them.

Yami smiled as he looked around. He loved going out to see how everyone in the kingdom was doing. People seemed to be in generally good spirits; there was lots of talking, trading, and general activity around them. He began drifting over to a shop, when he felt a tug on his hair. "Ah!" He yelped, more from surprise than anything else, and turned around.

"Don't you dare stray away from, boy." Bekhura said, looking ticked off. "I am not going to save you if you get kidnapped."

Yami blinked at him, but nodded. Bekhura was always protective, but he seemed a bit overly so at the moment. Yami tilted his head slightly and reached out with his magic, trying to see if the thief was sensing something he wasn't, but he got nothing.

Bekhura blinked as well, looking around. "Oh, lovely. Where has that idiot priest gotten to?"

Yami looked around as well. His earlier assumption that Seth would be easy to spot seemed to be untrue. The priest was nowhere to be seen.

"Am I the only one with a brain?" Bekhura asked, sounding angry.

"You might be." Yami replied, slightly worried. Seth could easily take care of himself, but it was unlike him to just walk off.

"Well, damn." Bekhura said, scowling. He grabbed Yami's arm. "Let's look for your idiot high priest."

Yami nodded, beginning to feel apprehensive. He hadn't sensed anything earlier, but was now aware of the feeling of dread that never meant anything good was happening. He cast a glance at Bekhura, who's begun leading them through the crowd, and noted he looked concerned as well.

"Something has to have happened to him..." Yami said quietly. He would have thought the priest has simply walked off and gotten lost, even if that was out of character for Seth, but everything was telling him otherwise. And he'd learned when he was a child to trust what he felt.

Bekhura nodded, obviously feeling the same. "This wasn't a good idea..." The thief said, glancing around. "Why can we never wander out of the palace without it being a disaster?"

"The gods hate us?" Yami ventured, beginning to reach out his magic for the priest. He felt nothing, which meant that Seth wasn't closer than several hundred yards. "How did he get so far away so quickly?"

Bekhura looked back at him, raising an eyebrow. "How do we know he's far away?"

"Magic." Yami responded, as if it was obvious. "I can cast a larger spell, but it'll take a few moments. I can't do it while being drug through a crowd of people."

"Any strong magic, even as cloaked as you make yours, is easy enough to sense by most of the people here. You don't really want to attract that much attention, do you?"

"Not especially, but I want to find Seth." He paused a moment. "Why is it HE'S the one we always have to look for? And he acts like I get into so much trouble..."

"Because that's his job." Bekhura responded, navigating towards a slightly less crowded street. It was obviously a less high class area, as well. He stopped, and Yami stopped right beside him. "If you want to cast your spell, do it. I'll watch over you."

Yami nodded, closing his eyes and beginning to concentrate. As he'd said, it only took a few moments for it to begin working. The Pharaoh felt the tendrils of the spell radiate out, reaching through the city as he directed them to look for Seth.

But as soon as they'd made it halfway across the city, they all hit walls. Yami blinked and opened his eyes, looking horribly confused. "Something blocked my spell."

"That can happen?" Bekhura asked, incredulously. "I thought you were too powerful?"

"Well, usually that's true." Yami responded, slightly annoyed. "Most people alone can't stop my spells. But a few competent people working together can."

"Lovely." The white haired thief responded, crossing his arms. "So, any guesses who? Think it's that ring of bandits we saved the priest's ass from a few years ago? I've heard they're still around, even after you defeated their leader so easily."

"I'm not sure," Yami responded, sighing, "I mean, it could be; the majority of them had some magic, at least. But even all together and with their leader, I don't know if they could block me. They'd need someone specifically trained in magic."

Bekhura sighed as well. "Just wonderful. So, shall we return to the palace, grab Mahaado, and have the three of us knock down that barrier?"

"That'd probably work well, but I'm worried about loosing time..." Yami responded. "Why don't you return to the palace and find Mahaado, Jouno, and maybe Aishizu, and I'll continue looking for Seth."

Bekhura gave him a look. "Do you really think I'll leave you in the city alone?"

"Magic, remember?" Yami responded, rolling his eyes. "Anyone bothers me, and they'll find themselves deeply regretting it."

Bekhura's expression didn't change. "It's not happening."

Yami frowned. "I'm going to look for Seth, right now. Come or don't." He replied, turning and beginning one direction.

Bekhura growled and jogged after him. "How do you know this is the right way?"

"Because my divine instinct tells me so." Yami responded, picking up his pace slightly. "Don't complain; you can always go find Mahaado and have him locate Seth with the Ring. But you're insisting on following me."

"I swear, I will knock you out and carry you back to the palace." Bekhura muttered, still loud enough for the other boy to hear. "Must you be so stubborn?"

"Of course." Yami replied. "And don't even try it."

The thief sighed quite loudly. On one hand, he could follow the other boy around the city, looking for the priest who could be anywhere. On the other, he could leave Yami alone, find some more priests, and they could actually locate Seth. And then Bekhura could feed him to some sort of monster for getting himself into trouble.

"...If you get killed I will read those notes you've made about attempting to figure out resurrection, put together a spell, and drag you from the afterworld just so I can kill you again." Bekhura threatened, earning an amused look from Yami. "I'll be back as soon as I fetch your other idiot priests. BE CAREFUL."

Yami smiled at him. "I will, of course." He responded, looking over his shoulder, before he changed to running as Bekhura turned around to return to the palace.

A while later the Pharaoh frowned, stopping running as he reached edge of a cliff. It was one of the areas of the bank of the Nile that was far higher than the actual river; about thirty feet above it. Yami looked around, walking down the bank warily. Something made him nervous, though he also felt this was the right spot. He was a bit confused however, because there was barely anything here. Lots of sand, a few rocks, and some sparse small plants. Since this area of the bank was too high to be reached by the Nile's flooding, it wasn't as green as the banks usually were.

He looked back and forth as he continued, the feeling of something being off continuing to nag at him. He seemed to sense someone other than himself being here, but saw no one. He stopped, concentrating on reaching out his magic again to see where the barrier was and if he could feel anyone else close by.

Yami's spell was abruptly cut off as he felt something hit him hard in the back of the head. He fell to his knees in the sand, his vision tilting wildly and blackening around the edges, growing many shades darker throughout. He gasped in pain, trying to reorient himself, before he felt someone grab him by the arms and pull him to his feet from behind. The Pharaoh struggled, attempting to gather enough magic to send it at his assailant, but suddenly he realized he wasn't standing on solid ground anymore. It barely registered that he'd been shoved off the cliff before he hit the water.

The murkiness of the water combined with his failing vision lead to quite a problem in determining the way up. He somehow managed to surface, gasping for air and worrying about keeping his head above the water, not noticing that the current was dragging him further down the river.

'I've got... To do something...' Yami thought hazily, feeling almost detached from what was going on. It was as if he wasn't actually there in the river; he was watching something happening but wasn't quite a part of it himself. His eyes fluttered a few times, his vision so bad he barely noticed when they closed. He vaguely felt something cool cover his head, but didn't have the strength or the desire to wonder what it was. He was tired; he wanted to fall asleep and then sort everything out when he woke up. A small part of him protested, but soon fell quiet, along with all other thoughts.

* * *

Yami's eyes snapped open and he gasped, rolling onto his side and beginning to cough violently. He shuddered from cold and pain as he tried to clear his lungs, his forehead touching the sandy ground as he continued to fight for air. When he felt someone touch his shoulder he panicked, turning onto his back and scrambling ungracefully backwards as far away as he could be before his strength gave out and he fell back to the ground. 

"Calm down, I won't hurt you." It was a woman's voice, and Yami sensed her moving towards him though he couldn't see her. "It's alright."

She stopped right next to him and looked down into his eyes. "Can you see me?"

Yami gasped a few more times, trying to regain his voice. He could see her hazily; she had long golden curly hair, and greyish blue eyes. She looked to be around Mai's age.

The woman smiled gently at him. "Can you even talk?" She asked, gently brushing some of his hair back. "It's okay, just relax. You're out of the river; your priests are looking for you. They've been pointed in the right direction."

Yami wondered slightly how she'd known he'd even had priests, but decided he didn't care too much.

"Unfortunately, I have to leave you now." The woman said, smiling softly at him. "Please take better care of yourself."

What? She was going to just leave him here? Yami blinked a few times, coughing again as he attempted to speak. This time though, he managed to form words. "...Who are you?"

The woman smiled a last time and stood up, bringing her out of the Pharaoh's vision. Yami heard he begin to walk away, but after a few steps she stopped. "My name is Ahondra." She said, before resuming her steps and eventually disappearing into the desert.

Yami sighed softly, coughing again. Bekhura was going to kill him. At least he wasn't dead yet, though; how he'd survived the whole ordeal was unknown to him, but he figured it was the strange woman's doing. Not that he minded being saved, of course.

The Pharaoh rolled onto his side and slowly began to try to get to his knees. Pain lanced through his skull from the wound on the back of his head, and he slowly raised a hand to touch it. It was incredibly unpleasant to touch and he flinched, drawing his hand away, unsurprised to see blood on his fingers.

'Who attacked me?' He wondered idly, trying to think back to what had happened. Whoever it had been had somehow managed to hide until he'd injured the teenager. The only thing Yami knew was that it had been a male, who was significantly taller than he was. He snorted at that. Everyone was taller than he was. But the person had been taller than Bekhura as well, maybe almost even Seth's height. They had to have been well versed in magic; if they hadn't been, Yami would have been able to locate him immediately.

He sighed. He'd find no answers where he was. He needed to find the palace and his priests and friends. But that seemed almost impossible at the moment.

Yami closed his eyes, trying to hold back tears that had suddenly made themselves present. He was cold, tired, in a lot of pain, nearly blind, and very worried over Seth. That, and he was lost in the middle of nowhere, and someone had tried to kill him and nearly succeeded. He'd always faced down and defeated his enemies before; never once had someone nearly killed him and then just disappeared, leaving no clue of who they were or if they'd come back later to finish. It was horribly unsettling, and he desperately wanted someone he trusted near him, protecting him.

"Yami!"

Yami's head snapped up at the sound of his name, nearly causing him to pass out as his dizziness increased at the motion. The voice had belonged to Mahaado, he was sure of it; and the priest had to be either alone or too worried to care about formality, or both, because he'd called him 'Yami' instead of 'Pharaoh' or 'Atem'.

A moment later the concerned face of Mahaado came into view, the priest kneeling in front of him. "Yami, what happened? Bekhura said that you two and Seth had gone out and that Seth disappeared; that you'd gone to look for him while Bekhura got us, but when we tried to find you the Ring wouldn't work and Superia couldn't locate you and I couldn't sense you and everyone thought the only possibility was that you were dead." The blonde rambled all in one breath, ending with wrapping his arms around the smaller boy and hugging him tightly but gently.

Yami blinked a few times, more than a little surprised by the show of emotion. Mahaado was usually very reserved. He must have been incredibly worried. "Ma... Mahaado, I'm alright..." He said, his voice weak.

"No you're not." Mahaado responded, releasing him. He ducked his head slightly to look levelly into Yami's eyes. "You look horrible. What happened to you? Do you need help?"

Yami shivered, giving a small nod. Mahaado's expression quickly changed from worried to almost terrified. "How badly are you hurt?"

"I'm... Not sure." The Pharaoh replied quietly. "I... I was upstream, on one of the high banks... Someone hit me from behind and then threw me into the Nile."

Mahaado's expression changed again, this time to barely controlled anger. "Do you know who?" He asked, moving out of Yami's view as he went to kneel behind the smaller boy so he could check the injury.

"No, I didn't see." Yami responded, sighing. "He never came in front of me, and after the first hit... It's hard to see. I can't make out anything more than twelve inches away..."

Mahaado hissed in obvious anger. "Don't worry. Aishizu will figure something out." He assured the teenager, gently continuing to examine the boy's head.

Yami nodded very slightly. "...Have you found Seth?"

Mahaado sighed. "Unfortunately, no. Not yet. We needed to gather you first because your magic is needed to help break down the barrier." He stood up, and walked back around to sit on his knees in front of Yami. "I'm not a healer, as you know, but I'm going to do my best."

Yami nodded again, feeling Mahaado's magic began to wave as the other sorcerer began his spell. He closed his eyes and attempted to relax for a few moments as the spell took affect, and when he opened his eyes again he was pleased to be able to see relatively well, with only a small amount of blurriness. "You're getting better at this, Mahaado."

Mahaado laughed. "I'm not as good as Aishizu." He said, standing and then helping the smaller boy to his feet, holding him steady when he wavered slightly. "Are you alright?"

"Enough." Yami responded, nodding. He looked around, noticing where they were for the first time. It was very flat and rocky, and seemed to expand for a long distance. He turned back towards Mahaado and frowned. "Where are we?"

"The other side of the Nile from the palace." Mahaado responded. "And north."

Yami sighed loudly. "I hate today." He muttered, running his fingers carefully through his wet hair.

Mahaado chuckled. "I second that."

* * *

**A/N**: Alrighty, that was terrible, but whatever. At least Ahondra got introduced again, for those who remember her. She may show up once more or so throughout the fic, but maybe not. 

So, next chapter, it's off to rescue Seth. And Nebenkharu will be back. Yay for him.

Please review the horror that was this chapter? XD


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